Crash and gravel burn

As is traditional in a major tour, the first proper stage ended in a sprint. It was that Tylar Farrar who made it across the line first, while my lad Andre Gripel could only manage fourth. Bradley Wiggins lost the pink jersey and little Cadel Evans took over the race lead. Not a bad day for Vinokourov either as he's now up to third place, but Carlos Sastre lost some time and sliped further back to 115th overall.

What should have been a straightforward ride across the pan-flat Dutch countryside turned into a stage with more crashes than an icy day in Atlanta.



Martin Kohler of BMC came off worst and became the first rider to abandon. I think he's the one on the ground, just below the guy who's shorts have disappeared.


Number 109 wasn't the only rider to suffer lycra damage, Cervelo's Ted King also had some mooning issues.

Trouble too for my man Pozzato, he came down hard and looked to be in a world of pain before he eventually got going again. Seems he landed on his knee, I don't think we'll be seeing him at the front of the race for a while.



The Wiggster was caught in two crashes, the last of which left him and his Sky team chasing a gap they couldn't close before the finish line, causing him to lose the race lead. At least he didn't have the indignity of everyone seeing his arse though.


Even stage winner Farrar went down in an early crash, but after that stayed out of trouble and had a good lead-out from the Garmin team to take his first Giro win.


So it's another none-more-flat stage tomorrow and I'm guessing another sprint finish. Let's hope there's a few less crashes tomorrow, eh?