Tour de France 2012 Stage 1 Results: Winner, Leaderboard and Highlights

Fabian Cancellara is on a mission.

After Stage 1 of the 2012 Tour De France, he’s still in the lead following his domination on day one in the Prologue. With plenty of stages left to go, though, Cancellara’s cushion isn’t safe—not even close. Here’s a recap of Sunday’s action along with the leaders.

Winner: Peter Sagan

While Cancellara boasts the lead, a youngster is on his tail. Twenty-two-year-old Peter Sagan triumphed in Stage 1 of the road race by finishing in an impressive time of four hours, 58 minutes and 19 seconds. Technically, Cancellara holds the time and point lead, but Sagan is in possession of the green jersey.

Despite his age, Sagan already has 36 career victories to his name. While he has yet to win the Tour de France, Sagan entered the competition with sky-high expectations. Right now, he’s looks well on his way to put himself in position to meet them.

Here are the most notable names after Stage 1.

Standings

Honours List	Rider	Times/Points
Yellow Jersey	Fabian Cancellara	05h 05' 32"
Green Jersey	Fabian Cancellara	55
Green Jersey (Worn By)	Peter Sagan	49
Polka-Dot Jersey	Michael Morkov	3
White Jersey	Tejay Van Garderen	05h 05' 42"
The Day's Winner	Peter Sagan	04h 58' 19"
Combative	Nicolas Edet
Team	Sky Procycling	15h 17' 10"

What They’re Saying

According to the Associated Press, Sagan’s sky-high expectations I mentioned earlier couldn’t possibly be higher. His name is being uttered in the same sentence as a cycler that isn’t too bad: Lance Armstrong. After being asked if he has the potential to be the next Armstrong, Sagan humbly responded (via Oregon Live):

“I would like to be, but I'm so young it's impossible to know what the future will be. If that could be true, it would be great.”

Crash of the Day

I could've sworn cameramen were supposed to tape the racers; not take them out.

Racers to Watch

Bradley Wiggins

Wiggins got off to a phenomenal day one start, finishing the Prologue in seven minutes and seven seconds. While he remains seven seconds behind Cancellara—the same disparity Wiggins ended the previous day with—his Stage 1 performance was a disappointment. He finished 16th, and for one of the favorites, that isn’t good enough.

Cadel Evans

Evans’ Sunday didn’t go much better. He also entered the Tour de France as an overwhelming favorite, but he finished 20th in Stage 1. Evans also doesn’t have nearly as much wiggle room as Wiggins, as he’s 17 seconds behind the leader.

Here is the current top 10.

Overall Time Classification (via letour.fr)

Rider	Times	Gap
1. Fabian Cancellara	05h 05' 32"
2. Bradley Wiggins	05h 05' 39"	+ 00' 07"
3. Sylvain Chavanel	05h 05' 39"	+ 00' 07"
4. Tejay Van Garderen	05h 05' 42"	+ 00' 10"
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen	05h 05' 43"	+ 00' 11"
6. Menchov Denis	05h 05' 45"	+ 00' 13"
7. Philippe Gilbert	05h 05' 45"	+ 00' 13"
8. Cadel Evans	05h 05' 49"	+ 00' 17"
9.  Vincenzo Nibali	05h 05' 50"	+ 00' 18"
10. Ryder Hesjedal	05h 05' 50"	+ 00' 18"

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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