Monday’s longest stage of this very mountainous Dauphiné Libéré looked to be one for the sprinters. The 207km course from Annecy to Bourgoin-Jallieu was only interrupted by three rather innocuous Cat. 4 ripples late in the course profile.

Early on, a lone avenger, in the form of Frenchman Nicolas Inaudi (Cofidis), stole away at 15km and at one point boasted a lead of nearly 18 minutes.CompleteResults

With sprinters' teams nipping at his heels, even an 18-minute lead wasn't enough for Nicolas Inaudi

Photo: Graham Watson

That prompted Team CSC and Credit Agricole to cooperate, with Bjarne´s Army anxious to either keep prologue winner Dave Zabriskie in the race leader’s jersey or bounce Stuart O´Grady, who started the day third at six seconds back, into the lead if it came down to a sprint. The Frenchmen were working for Thor Hushovd, who was gobbling up time bonuses along the way to position himself for a stage win and the lead.

Inaudi’s once-monstrous lead shrank under the group effort and his dreams of glory faded the closer he pedaled toward the finish. After 180km off the front, he was swooped up as the main bunch came to the day’s third and final climb, the Cat. 4 Côte du Rapoux climb with about 15km to go.

Bike racing is rarely predictable and things went sideways for the sprinters as riders started to attack in earnest on the short, punchy climb. Leading the charge was French wonderboy Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom), whose derring-do in the 2004 Tour earned him a long run in the maillot jaune.

Following Voeckler were Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner), Francisco Mancebo (Ag2r) and Egoi Martinez, Discovery Channel’s new Basque recruit. The quartet quickly drove a wedge between the peloton and hammered it home over the final 10km. Voeckler tried to surprise Wegmann with an early sprint, but the German outgunned his French rival to score the victory by a whisker with the peloton streaking through at 12 seconds adrift.

Zabriskie and Landis

Photo: Graham Watson

“I am quite surprised we managed to keep the sprinters at bay,” said Wegmann, who won the best climber’s jersey in the 2004 Giro. “It was a tough stage, but the four of us collaborated well.”

Voeckler captured enough points along the way – second to Inaudi up the day’s first two climbs and first over the third - to grab the best climber’s jersey and the points jersey as well to assure more kisses from the podium girls. Discovery Channel held the team classification thanks to Martinez´aggression on the day.

Wegmann slipped into the lead thanks to the time bonuses, with Voeckler and Zabriskie now tied for second at five seconds back. Despite his credentials as best climber in the 2004 Giro, Wegmann has no allusions that he can fight to keep the leader’s jersey once the race turns into the Alps starting with Ventoux on Thursday.

“I haven't raced for five weeks, so this is a good sign for the Tour de France,” Wegmann said. “Tackling the really high mountains is always difficult for me. I'll be happy to work for my race leader Levi Leipheimer.”

The 59th Dauphiné Libéré continues Tuesday with another stage tailored for the sprinters. The 203km course from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Saint-Galmier dips along the fringes of the Massif Central and features four Cat. 4 climbs in what’s a bumpier ride than Monday’s stage. The final climb comes about 25km from the finish, which should provide plenty of asphalt for the sprinters to get their shot at glory. They better try, because it will likely be their last chance.

Results - Stage 1
1. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner 5:06:36 (40.509 kph)
2. Thomas Voeckler (F), Bouygues Telecom, s.t.
3. Egoi Martinez (Sp), Discovery Channel, s.t.
4. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), AG2R Prevoyance, at 0:02
5. Danilo Napolitano (I), Lampre-Fondital, at 0:13
6. Sebastian Siedler (G), Milram, at 0:13
7. Christopher Horner (USA), Davitamon-Lotto, at 0:13
8. Jose Rojas Gil (Sp), Astaná-Würth, at 0:13
9. Philippe Gilbert (B), Française des Jeux, at 0:13
10. Mauro Da Dalto (I), Liquigas, at 0:13

Photo: Graham Watson

Overall
1. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner 5:11:19
2. Thomas Voeckler (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 0:05
3. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, at 0:05
4. Egoi Martinez (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 0:07
5. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:07
6. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), AG2R Prevoyance, at 0:09
7. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, at 0:11
8. Stuart O'grady (Aus), CSC, at 0:11
9. Sebastian Lang (G), Gerolsteiner, at 0:12
10. Joost Posthuma (Nl), Rabobank, at 0:13CompleteResults