Breakaway Performance Group

98th Tour de France - Stage 1 Reactions

98th Tour de France - Stage 1 Reactions
Teams and riders comments after stage one in a nervous peloton that counted six crashes today. Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador, Damiano Cunego, Vincent  Lavenu, Bjarne Riis, Lieuwe Westra, Tom Boonen and more

Tour Note: Curse of the Rainbow Jersey:
The last time a Tour stage was won by the reigning road race world champion was

BMC Racing Team
Cadel Evans Second
Cadel Evans stormed to a runner-up finish for the BMC Racing Team on Saturday's

Perfectly Positioned to avoid crash
Evans and several of his teammates escaped a large pile-up when a rider struck a

Cadel Evans
"George helped me really well going into the bottom of the climb and I was

Evans Looks Forward to the Team Time Trial
"It's going to be another important test. Hopefully we can have a repeat of

Lampre- ISD
Damiano Cunego 15th
The team didn't begin with a top result, but blue-fucsia group could be

On www.teamlampreisd.com the Cunego about the race. He said:

Ben Swift
Crash at 2 km to go...
So stage one of the Tour de France is done and dusted. Carnage is one word that Bring it on!
Ben
Check out my latest video from Stage one of the Tour de France here: www.benswiftcycling.com/videos

Saxo Bank SunGard
Dramatic Tour de France Opening
The 98th edition of Tour de France was launched with 191 kilometer long and

On the 1.5 kilometer long uphill finish, Leopard Trek's Fabian Cancellara

Team owner Bjarne Riis was far from being “It's one of these unfortunate accidents that often occur in the beginning of

Brian Vandborg is unhappy, but confident “When an accident strikes, minutes can easily be lost. But I have faith in

Alberto Contador, "A difficult day"
“It was a difficult day. There was a lot of tension and we were all pushing hard

“The Tour is long and I'm still optimistic and motivated, which is important.

Christiansen, Bedford take Swan Island - Oregon Cycling Action

PORTLAND — Anna Christiansen kept the Ironclad Performance Wear women’s team winning streak alive Saturday at the Swan Island Criterium, while Stephen Bedford (Team Oregon/Laurelwood Brewing) won the Senior men’s race. The Swan Island criterium converted to a points system for 2011, with points given four deep for each hot lap. The final sprint was worth double points.

Christiansen and Sorella Forte’s Jan Moss, who had been in a two-rider breakaway of their own earlier in the race, bridged up to a move by their teammates Michelle Cunha (Ironclad) and Sarah Tisdale (Sorella Forte) to form the four-rider move from which Christiansen launched her own late-race solo move.

The Ironclad rider gobbled up the all of the final hot spots and took home double points for the finish, racking up 46 points and the overall win. Tisdale finished second for her efforts, earning 24 points. Moss was just behind with 23.

A six-rider breakaway in the men’s race positioned sprinter Bedford to take a bundle of points on his way to a dominant win. The Team Oregon rider joined Josh Libereles (HPChiro/Alpine Mortgage Planning), Carl Hoefer (Therapeutic Associates), Colby Wait-Molyneux Colby (Hammer Nutrition/CMG Racing Team), Eric Sheagley (Veloce) and Graham Howard in a move that formed about halfway through the 60-minute race. Howard eventually dropped out of the lead group as hot spot after hot spot drove the frenetic pace around the wide open road that offered smooth pavement and sweeping corners.

Wait-Molyneux crossed the line ahead of Bedford in the final sprint, but Bedford’s prolific hot spot success ensured his overall win no matter where he finished in the finale. He ended the day with a 56 point total. Liberles, who finished third in the Masters race that ended about an hour before the Senior men’s start, was second in his second race of the day, scoring 28 points. Seventeen-year-old Wait-Molyneux finished third with 24 points.

Check out the PHOTO GALLERY for this race.