by Justin Davis

PLUMELEC, France, July 6, 2008 (AFP) – Cadel Evans was given a glimpse of the kind of climbing power he might be up against at this year’s Tour de France by Spanish rival Alejandro Valverde here Saturday.

Going on recent race polls Valverde is the man most likely to stop the 31-year-old Evans from making yellow jersey history for Australia on July 27 in Paris.

There might be another 20 stages to go, but Valverde wasted no time in getting a taste for the race’s big prize.

The 28-year-old Spaniard began as a big favourite for the first stage, which after 197.5km of undulating terrain ended with a tricky 1.7km ascent of the Cadoudal climb.

And he didn’t disappoint his Caisse d’Epargne team employers with a second career stage win which handed him the yellow jersey for the first time in his four participations.

“The stage suited me perfectly,” said the Spaniard, whose last win on the Tour came on the 10th stage at Courchevel in the Alps in 2005.

“At the end it was a case of calculating the distance and the timing, and I got it right.”

Luxembourg’s Kim Kirchen was poised for a famous win after doing well to wipe out an ambitious, 1km-long attack by Germany’s Stefan Schumacher, but the Team Columbia rider was then upstaged himself by the Spanish puncher.

With no prologue for the first time since 1967, and with Valverde programmed to be up the front at the end, it was crucial for all the yellow jersey men to limit their losses.

Evans finished sixth but with no time bonuses usually awarded to the top stage finishers this year he is now just one second behind Valverde overall.

For Silence-Lotto team manager Herman Frison, the most important thing is keeping Evans out of trouble.

“Cadel was strong today, and he did well because it was a potentially dangerous stage,” said Frison.

“We told him to make sure he stayed up near the front and even try his chance at the win.”

He added: “It’s not a problem for us that Valverde has got the yellow jersey at this stage. We knew he was one of the favourites to win the stage.

“It’s early days yet. What matters for us is having the yellow jersey in Paris.”

With the first stage passing through the home town of France’s last winner, Bernard Hinault, in 1985, it took only two kilometres for one of the French riders to attack.

Lilian Jegou’s break was soon followed by seven other riders, and they went on to build a maximum lead of just over eight minutes, at the 29km mark, before the peloton decided to react.

Valverde’s team played a vital role in the chase, helping to halve their deficit by the time they had passed through the feed zone at the midway stage.

Jegou and Spaniard David de la Fuente then pulled away at the front, but they were reeled in with 7.5km to go and from then on it was chaos as the race’s punchers and yellow jersey men fought to get to the front.

There were several crashes on the race, including two involving Evans’s teammates.

Yaroslav Popovych, one of Evans’ key mountain lieutenants, managed to ride away from a crash but with a right wrist injury.

Moments earlier, Belgian Johan Van Summeren survived, but was left with scrapes and scars on his inner thigh after going through the back windscreen of the Team Columbia car after braking too late.

Australian Mark Renshaw, who rides for Credit Agricole with compatriot Simon Gerrans, admitted it had been a chaotic day in the saddle.

“It was very tough out there,” Renshaw told AFP.

“There wasn’t a meter of flat all day and a lot of crosswinds. It was not a nice way to start the Tour.”

Renshaw was mystified at what happened to his team leader Thor Hushovd in the finale, and admitted that Valverde’s win was no big surprise.

“We all knew he was the favourite for today, it’s a perfect finish for him
- a climbing sprinter’s finish. And he’s one of the fastest punchers out there.”

He added: “Today it was 100 percent for Thor. I’m not sure what happened with him at the finish, but there’s still another 20 stages to go.”

Aussie Robbie McEwen, who crashed prior to the Cadoudal climb on his Tour debut in 1997, finished almost a minute behind but will be one to watch for an anticipated sprint finish on Sunday.