Rubens Bertogliati won the 192.5kms first stage of the Tour de France to become the first Swiss in six years to lead the world's biggest cycling race. The 23-year-old Lampre Daikin rider surged up the small hill before the finish to catch the sprinters by surprise and take the yellow jersey from defending champion Lance Armstrong.
"It's unbelievable. It's a dream come true especially with the yellow jersey. I don't know what to say. Since the start I was thinking about that finish. I thought it was a finish for me," said Bertogliati after completing the stage in four hours 49 minutes and 16 seconds.
The Swiss was 17 seconds behind American Armstrong after Saturday's prologue, but received a 20-second bonus for winning the first stage. German sprint specialist Erik Zabel, hoping to win his 11th Tour stage on his 32nd birthday, had to be content with second place as he outsprinted the chasing bunch ahead of Australian Robbie McEwen.
The last Swiss to hold the yellow jersey was Alex Zuelle, when he won the prologue in 1996. Zuelle, recent winner of the Tour of Switzerland, is missing the Tour because his team was not retained by organisers. The last Swiss winner of a stage was Alessio team leader Laurent Dufaux, also in 1996.
Filed by James Shortt
