Image 1 of 10 Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) in the race leader's red jersey (Image credit: Graham Watson) Image 2 of 10 Stage 1 winner Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) leads the young riders classification. (Image credit: AFP) Image 3 of 10 Champagne party on the podium. (Image credit: AFP) Image 4 of 10 Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) celebrates his victory in the opening stage at the Tour of Beijing. (Image credit: AFP) Image 5 of 10 The Tour of Beijing peloton makes its way past the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium during the opening stage. (Image credit: AFP) Image 6 of 10 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Sharp) drops back to the team car for some assistance. (Image credit: AFP) Image 7 of 10 Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) wins the sprint (Image credit: Graham Watson) Image 8 of 10 Riders enjoyed blue skies and clean air after a strong wind bloew away the smog (Image credit: Graham Watson) Image 9 of 10 The race circled the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium (Image credit: Graham Watson) Image 10 of 10 Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan was back in action (Image credit: Graham Watson)

At the end of a season built around his unfulfilled ambitions of gold on the velodrome in London, it was perhaps fitting that Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) emerged victorious at the end of stage one of the Tour of Beijing in the city’s Olympic park.

On a finishing straight sandwiched between the imposing Bird’s Nest Stadium and the Water Cube - the signature venues of the 2008 Olympic Games - Viviani timed his effort to perfection to beat Andy Fenn (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) in a close sprint finale. Viviani also took the red jersey of race leader and holds a four-second lead over Fenn thanks to the time bonuses.

As Team Sky moved to the front to control affairs in the final kilometres, Viviani had eyes only for the back wheel of Boasson Hagen, his rationale being that the Norwegian champion and his lead-out train would provide the safest passage through the tumult of the closing kilometre. Viviani’s strategy proved correct, and with a stiff tailwind at the peloton’s back on the finishing straight, he was able to open his sprint from distance.

“In the last kilometre I took Boasson Hagen’s wheel and I just stayed cool on his wheel,” Viviani told Cyclingnews after the finish. “I followed him because I know that he likes long sprints and that way you stay out of harm’s way. It was a clean sprint: I managed to go at the right time and got myself free in the final 250 metres.”

With a liberal sprinkling of strong sprinters in the field but no single overwhelming favourite, there was no shortage of teams striving to keep the race together in the finale. Viviani explained that his Liquigas-Cannondale teammates had focused on keeping him near the front rather than chasing the day’s break, reasoning that the bunch sprint would take care of itself on a stage that saw the peloton tackle thirteen laps of a fast and flat circuit.

“The tactic was to ride near the front no matter what because on a circuit like this, you’d use up a lot less energy,” said Viviani. “We had the team to do that. In the finale, men like Da Dalto and Capecchi were essential help, not so much to lead out the sprint but to get me into the right position.”

While Boasson Hagen was never able to get back on terms with Viviani once the Italian got ahead, Andy Fenn was closing quickly in the final 100 metres but the Briton simply ran out of road. Kenny van Hummel (Vacansoleil-DCM) came home in fourth, while the much-fancied Theo Bos (Rabobank) could only manage sixth in spite of a committed Rabobank lead-out train.

“Bos looked to have the most organised team of them all in the finale, but I didn’t see how his sprint went,” Viviani said. “But there was definitely plenty of competition there in the sprint today.”

It was Viviani’s seventh win of a busy season that has seen him repeatedly switch back and forth between road and track. While his Beijing victory can hardly compensate for his Olympic disappointment, where he slipped from joint first to sixth in the final event of the Omnium, it is just reward for his resolute efforts in the closing weeks of the season. After a brace of second place finishes at the Vuelta a España, and another near miss at the Memorial Pantani, Viviani was keen not to fall short again in Beijing.

“It was a big win because it’s been a while since I won,” he said. “But I took good condition out of the Vuelta and I came here to win one or two stages. One is ok, but two is perfect and the objective now is to win another stage and take the green jersey on the last stage.”

Although he rolled across the line 21 seconds down after sitting up in the finishing straight, Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) had perhaps the second greatest reason for cheer in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon. In only his second race since fracturing his pelvis in June, the Luxembourger was pleased with his progress. "My day was better than expected", he said. "I had no pain and I could stay on the saddle for most of the time."

Tiananmen Square

The day’s action got underway in the grand surrounds of Tiananmen Square, which had been specially closed off for the occasion. Unlike last year, local fans were able to enter the square to sample the atmosphere and while the crowds were sparse, it marked a progression for the event. A further boost for the peloton's morale was provided by the weather conditions - a brisk northerly wind meant that, for the first time since their arrival last week, the smog had cleared and there were blue skies overhead.

With just 117 flat kilometres on the agenda, it was nigh on impossible that the stage would end in anything other than a bunch sprint, but even so, the pace was high almost as soon as the flag was dropped outside the Great Hall of the People. The break of the day shot clear just eight kilometres in, as the peloton was still making the short trek northwards to the finishing circuit in the Olympic Park.

Marco Bandiera (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Matthieu Lagadnous (FDJ-BigMat), Adriano Malori (Lampre-ISD), Bert Jan Lindeman (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Craig Lewis (Champion System) were the five men to break clear, but while they built up a lead of 2:40 at one point, they knew that the efforts were unlikely to meet with any tangible reward by day’s end.

“My attack was so that Alessandro Petacchi could be quiet in the peloton and my teammates would not have to chase,” Malori said afterwards. “But I knew it would be very hard to get to the finish in a break with this wind because the peloton can always decide when it wants to pull you back.”

Matthieu Lagadnous won both intermediate sprints, and the time bonuses he picked up mean that he lies in third overall at the end of stage one, four seconds down on Viviani. However, once the peloton cranked into action with five laps to go, the break’s advantage began to tumble rapidly, and when Orica-GreenEdge took charge in earnest on the penultimate lap, it was clear that the game was up for the breakaway.

The plucky Craig Lewis made a bold attempt to upset the odds by jumping off the front of the break just as the peloton was on the point of sweeping them up, but while the American enjoyed a brief stay of execution, he too would be ruthlessly shut down in the closing kilometres as the stage was prepared for Viviani and the sprinters.

Full Results 1 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:37:49 2 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 3 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 4 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 5 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 6 Theo Bos (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 7 Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team 8 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 9 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 10 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 11 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 12 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 13 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha Team 14 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 15 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Sharp 16 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 17 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 18 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 19 Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team 20 Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 21 Steve Houanard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 22 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre - ISD 23 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 24 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - ISD 25 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 26 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team 27 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 28 Clinton Robert Avery (NZl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 29 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 30 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 31 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 32 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 33 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 34 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 35 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team 36 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling 37 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 38 Allan Davis (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 39 Timofey Kritskiy (Rus) Katusha Team 40 Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 41 Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 42 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 43 Tiziano Dall'antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 44 Joost Van Leijen (Ned) Lotto Belisol Team 45 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 46 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 47 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 48 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat 49 Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 50 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 51 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 52 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 53 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Team 54 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team 55 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 56 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp 57 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team 58 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 59 Maarten Neyens (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:00:09 60 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 61 Mathias Frank (Swi) BMC Racing Team 62 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 63 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 64 Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan 65 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 66 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 67 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 68 David Tanner (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 69 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team 70 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team 71 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 72 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 73 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team 74 Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha Team 75 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 76 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling 77 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team 78 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 79 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin - Sharp 80 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ-Big Mat 81 Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 82 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team 83 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 84 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 85 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 86 Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 87 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 88 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 89 Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 90 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 91 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 92 Kun Jiang (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 93 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 94 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 95 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 96 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 97 Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Lotto Belisol Team 98 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD 99 Jetse Bol (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 100 Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 101 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha Team 102 Peio Bilbao (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 103 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Garmin - Sharp 104 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre - ISD 105 Javier Iriarte (Spa) Movistar Team 106 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling 107 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Movistar Team 108 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 109 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 110 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 111 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 112 Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 113 Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 114 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin - Sharp 115 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 116 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team 117 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 118 Morris Possoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 119 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 120 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 121 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp 122 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 123 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Sky Procycling 124 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 125 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 126 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:21 127 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 128 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan 129 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:00:37 130 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:00:45 131 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:47 132 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:57 133 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:03 134 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:01:06 135 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 136 Sylvain Georges (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:11 137 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:01:33 138 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 139 Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:01:35 140 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:01:44 141 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD 142 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi DNF David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat

Points 1 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 15 pts 2 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 14 3 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 13 4 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 12 5 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 11 6 Theo Bos (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 10 7 Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team 9 8 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 8 9 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 7 10 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 6 11 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 5 12 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 4 13 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha Team 3 14 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2 15 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Sharp 1

Sprint 1 - Finish line (4th crossing), 47km 1 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 5 pts 2 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 3 3 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2 4 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD 1

Sprint 2 - Finish line (8th crossing), 78km 1 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 5 pts 2 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 3 3 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2 4 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 1

Young riders 1 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:37:49 2 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 3 Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team 4 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 5 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 6 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha Team 7 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 8 Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team 9 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 10 Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 11 Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 12 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 13 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 14 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Team 15 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team 16 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:09 17 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 18 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling 19 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 20 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 21 Jetse Bol (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 22 Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 23 Peio Bilbao (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 24 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre - ISD 25 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling 26 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 27 Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 28 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 29 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 30 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp 31 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Sky Procycling 32 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:47 33 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:57 34 Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:01:35 35 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:01:44 36 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi

Teams 1 Movistar Team 7:53:27 2 Vacansoleil - DCM Procycling Team 3 AG2R La Mondiale 4 Lampre - ISD 5 Lotto-Belisol Team 6 Omega Pharma-QuickStep 7 Katusha Team 8 Liquigas-Cannondale 9 Astana Pro Team 10 Garmin-Sharp 11 FDJ-BigMat 12 RadioShack-Nissan 13 BMC Racing Team 0:00:09 14 Rabobank Cycling Team 15 Champion System Pro Cycling Team 16 Sky Procycling 17 Orica GreenEdge 18 Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 19 Euskaltel - Euskadi

General classification after stage 1 1 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:37:39 2 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:00:04 3 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 4 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:06 5 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:10 6 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 7 Theo Bos (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 8 Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team 9 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 10 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 11 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 12 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 13 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 14 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha Team 15 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 16 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Sharp 17 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 18 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 19 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 20 Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team 21 Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 22 Steve Houanard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 23 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre - ISD 24 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 25 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - ISD 26 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 27 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team 28 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 29 Clinton Robert Avery (NZl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 30 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 31 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 32 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 33 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 34 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 35 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team 36 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling 37 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 38 Allan Davis (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 39 Timofey Kritskiy (Rus) Katusha Team 40 Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 41 Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 42 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 43 Tiziano Dall'antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 44 Joost Van Leijen (Ned) Lotto Belisol Team 45 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 46 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 47 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 48 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat 49 Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 50 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 51 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 52 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 53 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Team 54 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team 55 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 56 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp 57 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team 58 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 59 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:16 60 Maarten Neyens (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:00:19 61 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 62 Mathias Frank (Swi) BMC Racing Team 63 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 64 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 65 Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan 66 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 67 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 68 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 69 David Tanner (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 70 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team 71 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team 72 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 73 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 74 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team 75 Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha Team 76 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 77 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling 78 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team 79 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 80 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin - Sharp 81 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ-Big Mat 82 Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 83 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team 84 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 85 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 86 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 87 Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 88 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 89 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 90 Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 91 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 92 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 93 Kun Jiang (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 94 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 95 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 96 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 97 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 98 Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Lotto Belisol Team 99 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD 100 Jetse Bol (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 101 Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 102 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha Team 103 Peio Bilbao (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 104 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Garmin - Sharp 105 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre - ISD 106 Javier Iriarte (Spa) Movistar Team 107 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling 108 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Movistar Team 109 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 110 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 111 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 112 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 113 Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 114 Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 115 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin - Sharp 116 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 117 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team 118 Morris Possoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 119 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 120 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 121 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp 122 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 123 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Sky Procycling 124 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 125 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 126 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:31 127 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 128 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan 129 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:00:47 130 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:00:55 131 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:57 132 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:01:07 133 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:13 134 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:01:16 135 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 136 Sylvain Georges (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:21 137 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:01:43 138 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 139 Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:01:45 140 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:01:51 141 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:01:54 142 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi

Points classification 1 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 15 pts 2 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 14 3 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 13 4 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 12 5 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 11 6 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 10 7 Theo Bos (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 10 8 Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team 9 9 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 8 10 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 7 11 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 6 12 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 5 13 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 5 14 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 5 15 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 4 16 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha Team 3 17 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2 18 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Sharp 1 19 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 1 20 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD 1

Young riders classification 1 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:37:39 2 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:00:04 3 Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:10 4 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 5 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 6 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha Team 7 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 8 Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team 9 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 10 Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 11 Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 12 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 13 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 14 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Team 15 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team 16 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:16 17 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:19 18 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 19 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling 20 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 21 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 22 Jetse Bol (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 23 Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 24 Peio Bilbao (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 25 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre - ISD 26 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling 27 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 28 Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 29 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 30 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp 31 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Sky Procycling 32 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:57 33 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:01:07 34 Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:01:45 35 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:01:54 36 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi