See also Stages 10 to 20
Prologue (Paris, July 5)
The opening stage was a short time trial. Covering just 6.5 km the route started under the Eiffel Tower, crossed the river, out to the Place de la Concorde and then back for a finish near to the start.
The trial was won by Bradley McGee of FDJeux edging out Scot David Millar by 0.1 seconds after Millar had briefly lost his chain in the last 500 metres. Haimar Zubeldia, a tour debutant, had set the early pace and held onto first place almost to the end.
1. Bradley McGee (Australia) 07:26 2. David Millar (Scotland) +0:00 3. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain) +0:02 4. Jan Ullrich (Germany) +0:02 5. Victor Hugo Peña (Columbia) +0:06 6. Tyler Hamilton (USA) +0:06 7. Lance Armstrong (USA) +0:07 8. Joseba Beloki (Spain) +0:09 9. Santiago Botero (Columbia) +0:09 10. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Russia) +0:10
This stage entailed a flat 168 km looping south to Montgeron before heading back north to the village of Meaux.
As expected the race ended in a sprint. An early three man breakaway built up an lead of almost nine minutes before the big teams chased them down, the final man, Andy Flickinger, being caught with 11 km to go. A crash in the last kilometre brought down around 140 riders but most of the main sprinters made it through. Alessandro Petacchi of Fassa Bortolo won his first ever stage, beating Robbie McEwen and Erik Zabel in the final metres. Contender for outright victory Tyler Hamilton broke his collarbone in the big crash.
1. Alessandro Petacchi (Italy) 3:44:33 2. Robbie McEwen (Australia) +0:00 3. Erik Zabel (Germany) +0:00 4. Paolo Bettini (Italy) +0:00 5. Baden Cooke (Australia) +0:00 6. Thor Hushovd (Norway) +0:00 7. Oscar Freire (Spain) +0:00 8. Luca Paolini (Italy) +0:00 9. Romans Vainsteins (Latvia) +0:00 10. Jaan Kirsipuu (Estonia) +0:00General classification:
1. Bradley McGee 3:51:55 2. David Millar +0:04 3. Haimar Zubeldia +0:06 4. Jan Ullrich +0:06 5. Victor Hugo Peña +0:10 6. Tyler Hamilton +0:10 7. Andy Flickinger +0:10 8. Lance Armstrong +0:11 9. Joseba Beloki +0:13 10. Santiago Botero +0:13Points classification:
1. Robbie McEwen 36 2. Alessandro Petacchi 35 3. Erik Zabel 26Mountains classification:
1. Christophe Mengin 13 2. Walter Beneteau 9 3. Andy Flickinger 5
One of the longest stages of the 2003 race at 204.5 km, this was another mostly flat stage where a bunch sprint was expected, a few Category 4 climbs or smaller occured in the first and last quarters of the race.
The race was similar to Stage 1. A very early breakaway by two riders, Lilian Jegou and Frederic Finot, built up a lead of over eleven minutes, but their lead was diminished through the afternoon and after Jegou was dropped Finot was finally caught after a breakaway of almost 185 km. In the final mass sprint the Australia FDJeux rider Baden Cooke won, another debutant winner he just beat local rider Jean-Patrick Nazon. Tyler Hamilton completed the race close to last and two other riders injured in the crash on Stage 1 did not start the day's race. They were American Levi Leipheimer, who was considered to have a chance to end in the top-10 and his Dutch team mate from Rabobank, Marc Lotz.
1. Baden Cooke (Australia) 5:06:33 2. Jean-Patrick Nazon (France) +0:00 3. Jaan Kirsipuu (Estonia) +0:00 4. Erik Zabel (Germany) +0:00 5. Thor Hushovd (Norway) +0:00 6. Robbie McEwen (Australia) +0:00 7. Paolo Bettini (Italy) +0:00 8. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) +0:00 9. Fred Rodriguez (U.S.) +0:00 10. Mikel Artetxe (Spain) +0:00General classification:
1. Bradley McGee 8:58:28 2. David Millar +0:04 3. Baden Cooke +0:04 4. Haimar Zubeldia +0:06 5. Jan Ullrich +0:06 6. Jean-Patrick Nazon +0:06 7. Victor Hugo Pena +0:10 8. Tyler Hamilton +0:10 9. Andy Flickinger +0:10 10. Lance Armstrong +0:11Points classification:
1. Robbie McEwen 58 2. Baden Cooke 57 3. Erik Zabel 50Mountains classification:
1. Christophe Mengin 14 2. Walter Beneteau 10 3. Frederic Finot 8
Another flat stage in northern France, 167.5 km including only one Category 4 climb and three intermediate sprints.
Unlike the two proceeding stages the repeated small breakaways were not allowed to build significant leads. The teams of the main sprinters, notably Jean Delatour, kept the race together to compete for the points and time bonuses of the intermediate sprints. High temperatures and high speeds kept the riders together until after the second sprint when Anthony Geslin makes a lone break. His lead reached a maximum of around 3&12frac; minutes and he was caught with just 16 km to the finish. In a mass sprint Alessandro Petacchi claimed his second win, but Frenchman Jean-Patrick Nazon had won sufficient bonuses on the intermediate sprints to take the yellow jersey.
1. Alessandro Petacchi (Italy) 3:27:39 2. Romans Vainsteins (Latvia) +0:00 3. Óscar Freire (Spain) +0:00 4. Erik Zabel (Germany) +0.00 5. Robbie McEwen (Australia) +0:00 6. Luca Paolini (Italy) +0:00 7. Olaf Pollack (Germany) +0:00 8. Angelo Furlan (Italy) +0:00 9. Salvatore Commesso (Italy) +0:00 10. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) +0:00General classification:
1. Jean-Patrick Nazon 12:25:59 2. Bradley McGee +0:08 3. David Millar +0:12 4. Baden Cooke +0:12 5. Haimar Zubeldia +0:14 6. Jan Ullrich +0:14 7. Jann Kirsipuu +0:15 8. Robbie McEwen +0:18 9. Victor Hugo Peña +0:18 10. Tyler Hamilton +0:18Points classification:
1. Robbie McEwen 86 2. Erik Zabel 74 3. Alessandro Petacchi 72Mountains classification:
1. Christophe Mengin 15 2. Walter Beneteau 10 3. Frederic Finot 8
Stage 4 was a team time trial - the riders ride per team, and the time of the fifth rider counts. This is considered by the riders to be one of the most difficult parts of road cycling.
Winner of the stage was the US Postal team of favorite Lance Armstrong. In the general classification, US Postal riders now take places one to eight. Of the other main contenders, Joseba Beloki, Jan Ullrich and Francesco Mancebo did not lose much time, but Gilberto Simoni lost 3 minutes, which he will have a hard time making up for in the mountains.
In the results the main GC contenders of each team are mentioned.
1. US Postal-Berry Floor 1:18:27 (Lance Armstrong, Roberto Heras) 2. ONCE-Eroski 0.30 (Joseba Beloki, Jose Azevedo) 3. Team Bianchi 0.43 (Jan Ullrich, Angel Casero) 4. iBanesto.com 1.05 (Francisco Mancebo) 5. Quick.Step-Davitamon 1.23 (Richard Virenque, Michael Rogers) 6. Team Telekom 1.30 (Santiago Botero, Alexandre Vinokourov) 7. Vini Caldirol-So.Di 1.32 (Stefano Garzelli) 8. Credit Agricole 1.32 (Christophe Moreau) 9. Ag2R Prevoyance 1.38 10. Team CSC 1.45 (Tyler Hamilton)General classification:
1. Victor Hugo Peña 13:44:44 2. Lance Armstrong +0:01 3. Vjatceslav Ekimov +0:05 4. George Hincapie +0:05 5. José Luis Rubiera +0:23 6. Roberto Heras +0:27 7. Pavel Padrnos +0:27 8. Floyd Landis +0:28 9. Joseba Beloki +0:33 10. Jorg Jaksche +0:38
After a fast start, a group of five riders, Laszlo Bodrogi, Nicolas Jalabert, Jens Voigt, Ludovic Turpin and Frédéric Finot, got away, but the gap never grew over 3 minutes, the teams of the sprinters keeping a high velocity on the peloton. Again the stage ends in a mass sprint, and again Petacchi manages to take it, showing himself the best sprinter in this year's Tour. Whether he is also the best sprinter overall remains questionable, since the team of Mario Cipollini was not invited to this year's Tour.
1. Alessandro Petacchi (Italy) 4:09:47 2. Jaan Kirsipuu (Estonia) +0:00 3. Baden Cooke (Australia) +0:00 4. Erik Zabel (Germany) +0:00 5. Robbie McEwen (Australia) +0:00 6. Luca Paolini (Italy) +0:00 7. Thor Hushovd (Norway) +0:00 8. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) +0:00 9. Fred Rodriguez (USA) +0:00 10. Jean-Patrick Nazon (France) +0:00General classification:
1. Victor Hugo Peña 17:54:31 2. Lance Armstrong +0:01 3. Vjatceslav Ekimov +0:05 4. George Hincapie +0:05 5. José Luis Rubiera +0:23 6. Roberto Heras +0:27 7. Pavel Padrnos +0:27 8. Floyd Landis +0:28 9. Joseba Beloki +0:33 10. Jorg Jaksche +0:38Points classification:
1. Robbie McEwen 108 2. Alessandro Petacchi 107 3. Erik Zabel 98Mountains classification:
1. Frederic Finot 18 2. Christophe Mengin 15 3. Walter Beneteau 10
Lyon is the first of the six cities that was also visited in the first Tour de France in 1903. Stuart O'Grady and Anthony Geslin attacked, and seemed to finally be able to have a breakaway attempt succeed, their lead growing to 18 minutes, and still being 8 minutes with 50 kilometers to go, but the teams of the sprinters once again were successful in catching the attackers, only 500 meters before the finish. Once again Petacchi scored a convincing win in the sprint, and takes his fourth win in five normal stages! Whether he also will be good enough to get across the mountains and attempt for the stages in Bordeaux and Paris in the last week, remains to be seen though. His latest win also gains him the green jersey of the points classification.
1. Alessandro Petacchi (Italy) 5:08:35 2. Baden Cooke (Australia) +0:00 3. Fabrizio Guidi (Italy) +0:00 4. Thor Hushovd (Norway) +0:00 5. Romans Vainsteins (Latvia) +0:00 6. Damien Nazon (France) +0:00 7. Sebastien Hinault (France) +0:00 8. Gerrit Glomser (Austria) +0:00 9. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukraine) +0:00 10. Luca Paolini (Italy) +0:00General classification:
1. Victor Hugo Peña 23:03:06 2. Lance Armstrong +0:01 3. Vjatceslav Ekimov +0:05 4. George Hincapie +0:05 5. José Luis Rubiera +0:23 6. Roberto Heras +0:27 7. Pavel Padrnos +0:27 8. Floyd Landis +0:28 9. Joseba Beloki +0:33 10. Jorg Jaksche +0:38Points classification:
1. Alessandro Petacchi 144 2. Baden Cooke 118 3. Robbie McEwen 110Mountains classification:
1. Christophe Mengin 20 2. Frederic Finot 18 3. Anthony Geslin 15
The first mountain stage, although not an extremely heavy one, with 5 climbs, of which one of the first category but none of the (even heavier) 'Hors Categorie' (outside category). On the first climb, Benoit Poilvet, Paolo Bettini and Rolf Aldag attack, later joined by Richard Virenque, who drops the others one by one, and takes the stage and the yellow jersey. A group of 45 riders came in at 4 minutes behind Virenque. It contained most contenders for the general classification, but Gilberto Simoni and Santiago Botero were not, and lost over 6 minutes to Lance Armstrong and the others. After the first mountains, their chances in this year's tour seem to be over already. Among the seven riders who dropped during the stage, was Alessandro Petacchi, the wearer of the green jersey. Baden Cooke, who inherited the jersey after Petacchi's retirement, described Petacchi as "soft".
1. Richard Virenque (France) 6:06:03 2. Rolf Aldag (Germany) +2:29 3. Sylvain Chavanel (France) +3:45 4. Michael Rogers (Australia) +4:03 5. Stefano Garzelli (Italy) +4:06 6. Christophe Moreau (France) +4:06 7. Laurent Dufaux (Switzerland) +4:06 8. David Millar (UK) +4:06 9. Georg Totschnig (Austria) +4:06 10. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazak.) +4:06General classification:
1. Richard Virenque 29:10:39 2. Lance Armstrong +2:37 3. Rolf Aldag +2:48 4. José Luis Rubiera +2:59 5. Roberto Heras +3:03 6. Joseba Beloki +3:09 7. Jorg Jaksche +3:14 8. Manuel Beltran +3:15 9. Jan Ullrich +3:15 10. José Azevedo +3:17Points classification:
1. Baden Cooke 118 2. Robbie McEwen 110 3. Thor Hushovd 100Mountains classification:
1. Richard Virenque 78 2. Rolf Aldag 61 3. Benoit Poilvet 51
The second day in the mountains was a long 219 km including the Col du Telegraphe, the Col du Galibier and a finish on the famous Alpe d'Huez. Richard Virenque was first over the initial climb and the peleton did not break-up until an early attack after the Cote de Megeve split the peleton in two. The leading group contained most of the major names and produced a series of attacks, contender Gilberto Simoni was dropped early on. On the hors categorie Col du Telegraphe a breakaway foursome were caught but the pace told and Santiago Botero and others fell back. After the summit a push by the US Postal team reduced the leading group to about thirty before the Col du Galibier, the group spread out on the ascent but reformed on the other side. On the final ascent up the Alpe d'Huez another US Postal attack reduced the leading group to just eight, with Armstrong seemingly less strong there were a number of attacks and finally Iban Mayo made it off the group. Mayo wins, Alexandre Vinokourov broke from the chasers and secured second while Armstrong led a group in two minutes down, including the injured Hamilton. Armstrong gained the yellow jersey, finishing almost seven minutes up on Virenque.
1. Iban Mayo (Spain) 5:57:30 2. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz.) +1:45 3. Lance Armstrong (USA) +2:12 4. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) +2:12 5. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain) +2:12 6. Joseba Beloki (Spain) +2:12 7. Tyler Hamilton (USA) +2:12 8. Ivan Basso (Italy) +2:12 9. Roberto Laiseka (Spain) +2:12 10. Pietro Caucchioli (Italy) +3:36General classification:
1. Lance Armstrong 35:12:50 2. Joseba Beloki +0:40 3. Iban Mayo +1:10 4. Alexandre Vinokourov +1:17 5. Francisco Mancebo +1:37 6. Tyler Hamilton +1:52 7. Roberto Heras +1:58 8. Jan Ullrich +2:10 9. Ivan Basso +2:25 10. Jörg Jaksche +3:19Points classification:
1. Baden Cooke 120 2. Robbie McEwen 110 3. Thor Hushovd 104Mountains classification:
1. Richard Virenque 134 2. Lance Armstrong 63 3. Francisco Mancebo 61
Although the biggest climbs in this stage were at the beginning, it was the much smaller ones at the end that proved decisive. Several attacks in the early race brought groups ahead, possibly the most important rider in these was Jörg Jaksche. Being a teammate of GC number 2 Joseba Beloki, and himself not very far behind Armstrong, his intention was probably to force Armstrong's team to work, which makes them less capable of defending him against Beloki later in the stage or in the coming stages. On the last climb of the stage, Alexandre Vinokourov goes on the attack, slightly later all other remaining attackers were caught back.
During the descent, Armstrong's closest rival Beloki missed a corner due to a combination of the bitumen road softening in the heat, and a blown tyre. He fell heavily, and was taken to the hospital where it was discovered that he had several fractures and was forced to drop out of the tour. Armstrong, sitting just behind Beloki, went off the road as well. Armstrong managed to keep upright as he manoevered his bike through a field, and carried his bike across a ditch to return to the road. He may have been assisted in his cross-country journey through the practice he gained in a cyclocross event in the months before the tour. Vinokourov kept the lead and takes the stage and second place in the general classification.
1. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz.) 5:02:00 2. Paolo Bettini (Italy) +0:36 3. Iban Mayo (Spain) +0:36 4. Lance Armstrong (USA) +0:36 5. Jan Ullrich (Germany) +0:36 6. Ivan Basso (Italy) +0:36 7. Georg Totschnig (Austria) +0:36 8. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) +0:36 9. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain) +0:36 10. Tyler Hamilton (USA) +0:36General classification:
1. Lance Armstrong 40:15:26 2. Alexandre Vinokourov +0:21 3. Iban Mayo +1:02 4. Francisco Mancebo +1:37 5. Tyler Hamilton +1:52 6. Jan Ullrich +2:10 7. Ivan Basso +2:25 8. Roberto Heras +2:28 9. Haimar Zubeldia +3:25 10. Denis Menchov +3:45Points classification:
1. Baden Cooke 120 2. Robbie McEwen 110 3. Thor Hushovd 104Mountains classification:
1. Richard Virenque 135 2. Jorg Jaksche 75 3. Lance Armstrong 74