BBC SPORT | Special Events | 2001 | Tour de France

The Cofidis cyclist started the stage heavily bandaged after his crash in the prologue, and fell off the back of the main group 30 kilometres from the end.

He finished in a group of 23 riders five minutes and 45 seconds behind and he is now 177th of the 188 riders, six minutes and 27 seconds behind Moreau.

Defending champion Lance Arsmtrong finished in the leading group in 49th place to remain in third place overall.

It was Zabel's ninth Tour stage win and puts him on course early for his sixth green jersey.

This year he will not have so much support from his Telekom team, out to secure overall victory for Zabel.

Train delay

But his leadout man Gian-Matteo Fagnini set him up perfectly for victory.

While the stage ended in a mass sprint, La Fran�aise des Jeux rider Jacky Durand had stayed away for 124.5 kilometres.

After his initial break, he was soon joined by Jean Delatour rider Christophe Oriol.

Jacky Durand and Christoph Oriol
Durand and Oriol were held up by a freight train
Durand was seeking his fourth stage victory and the pair's lead peaked at nine minutes at the end of the second hour of racing.

However, sustained chasing by Mapei at the front of the peloton saw the gap fall slightly, but the breakaway pair's were hit by a bizarre incident after 95 kilometres.

They were forced to wait while a train crossed the route at a train crossing, which cost them three minutes and 20 seconds, as they signed autographs while waiting for the train to pass.

However, the peloton were then ordered to stop to compensate for the time lost by Durand and Oriole.

But the main group was only held up for two minutes.

Moreau's Festina team then took up the chase and, with 20 kilometres remaining, the lead had been cut to just two minutes.

Breakaway ends

Italian champion Danielle Nardello crashed spectacularly 25 kilometres from the finish, but bravely remounted despite a wrist injury.

However, he finished 12 minutes and 12 seconds behind in the stage.

Durand and Oriol were finally reeled in by the main group some 10 kilometres from the finish.

The peloton split into three groups on the final climb, with Belgian sprint specialist Tom Steels among those left behind.

Australian Bradley McGee, an Olympic bronze medallist in the pursuit, crashed after briefly breaking clear with four kilometres to go.

Former world champion Laurent Brochard also made a late attack, but was soon enveloped by the main group, setting up the sprint finish.

Stage one results (Saint-Omer to Boulogne-sur-Mer)

1 Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom 4 hours 55 minutes 15 seconds
2 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Domo-Fram Frites
3 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Fran�aise des Jeux
4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole
5 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) A2R all same time

General classification

1 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Festina 5 hours 4 minutes 35 seconds
2 Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) ONCE at 03 seconds
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal at 04.
4 Kirsipuu at 07
5 Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom at 07
6 Florent Brard (Fra) Festina at 07
7 Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme at 10
8 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Credit Agricole at 11
9 Jacky Durand (Fra) Fran�aise des Jeux at13
10 Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE at 13.


	Links to more Tour de France stories