Stage 1, Brest to Plumelec, 197.5km

Weather: Partly cloudy skies, strong southwest winds up to 65kph, temperatures in low 80s

Stage winner: Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) won his second career Tour stage with a blistering acceleration in the final right-hander with about 350m to go. “Balaverde” roared past the stalling Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) to win one second ahead of Philip Gilbert (FDJeux) and Jerome Pineau (Bouygues Telecom).

Race leader: Valverde claims the first maillot jaune of the 2008 Tour and the first of his career to take a one-second lead to Gilbert. With the elimination of time bonuses, he holds a one-second lead to another dozen riders. Among the favorites, Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) crashed with about 8km to go and lost contact to finish 170th at 3:04 back.

Green jersey: Valverde took 35 points with the stage-win, Gilbert 30 with second and Pineau 26 with third.

King of the Mountains: Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) and Bjorn Schroder (Milram) each took points at all of the day’s four rated climbs and ended the day tied with eight points apiece, but Voeckler claimed the first polka-dot jersey based on the stage result.

Best Young Rider: Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott), second overall in this year’s Giro, made his presence felt early by darting to fifth in the stage to claim the white jersey. Andy Schleck (CSC), second in last year’s Giro, was seventh in the stage at the same time and slots into second in the best young rider category.

Best team: Caisse d’Epargne takes a seven-second lead to Team CSC-Saxo Bank, with Team Columbia third and Garmin-Chipotle fourth, also at seven seconds adrift.

Most aggressive rider: Lillian Jegou (FDJeux) tore away with the day’s main breakaway and was reeled in with about 7km to go. Joining him in the last-gasp move was 2006 most aggressive rider, Davide de la Fuente (Saunier Duval-Scott), but the eight-man French panel couldn’t resist giving the day’s prize to one of their own.

Lanterne Rouge: Alexsandr Kuschynski (Liquigas) in 179th at 4:56.

Top American: Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Chipotle) crossed across the line 18th at seven seconds back as part of a second group of riders.

The peloton: Herve Duclos-Lassalle (Cofidis) crashed out with a fractured wrist. The son of a former Paris-Roubaix winner, crashed just after the first stage's feed zone when a rider's food bag got tangled in his wheel. 179 riders remain.

Medical report:
● Dupont (Ag2r-La Mondiale), cuts to face and right knee
● Duclos-Lassalle (Cofidis), crash in feed zone, fracture of two bones in left arm, transferred to hospital in Lorient
● Van Summeren (Silence-Lotto), crash in feed zone, cuts to face and left thigh
● Riblon (Ag2r-La Mondiale), superficial cuts on upper back
● Popovych (Silence-Lotto), contusion to right wrist
● Goubert (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Isasi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Florencio (Bouygues Telecom) all crashed at 175km with apparent injury
● Soler (Barloworld), crashed at 187km, trauma to left wrist, cuts to hip and left knee, will have x-rays on wrist Saturday evening.

Jury report:
● Riders Markus Fothen (Gerolsteiner) and Romain Feillu (Agritubel) suffered mechanical problems in the last kilometer and were awarded the same time at 4h36:59.
● Sport director Roberto Damiani (Silence-Lotto) was fined 120 euros for not respecting the commissaires
● The jury also chastised 40 riders for being late for the sign-in protocol ahead of the start of Saturday’s stage, saying it was “unacceptable behavior in respect to the public,” warning them of 60 euro fines if they miss it again.

Sunday's Forecast: Chance of scattered showers early in the stage, with partly clearing skies in the afternoon. Continued strong winds, with gusts up to 80kph from the northwest and northeast.

Compiled by Andrew Hood