Evans encouraged by his early form

CADEL Evans could hardly have asked for a better start to the Tour de France, avoiding a crash that included defending champion Alberto Contador.

Cadel Evans

CADEL Evans could hardly have asked for a better start to the Tour de France, avoiding a crash that included defending champion Alberto Contador.

He was second overall after the opening stage into Mont des Alouettes behind the Belgian road champion Philippe Gilbert before heading into the overnight team time trial, a flat 23km out-and-back circuit at Les Essarts.

Gilbert, from Omega Pharma Lotto, showed the sort of form in the Vendee region that saw him crowned the undisputed king of the Ardennes classics in the spring.

"It is going to be another important test," Evans said of the time trial.

"Hopefully, we can pick up more seconds -- that would be the ultimate. Looking back at the TV highlights (of stage one), it was a messy day for many.

"The team managed to avoid any of the major mishaps."

More importantly for Evans from a psychological point of view, he has a 1min 17sec advantage on race favourite Contador, who was in a crash that involved a spectator inside the final 3km. An unnamed Astana rider hit the spectator, who was looking the other way, causing a massive pile-up.

Contador was left to rue a bad day at the office.

"In cycling today, races are won and lost in seconds," he said in a statement released by the team.

"So losing (about) 1min 15sec on all the favourites is a gap that will be hard to make up."

In the confusion that followed, Evans and fellow BMC riders George Hincapie and Marcus Burghardt were among a group of about 30 riders, including Gilbert, who missed the mayhem.

While the climb to the finish suited Evans's style of riding honed from his time as a world-class mountain biker, Gilbert proved to be stronger at the finish.

"George was a huge help at the bottom of the (final) climb and I was really perfectly positioned," Evans said.

"I thought I would go conservatively, but then a Katusha or Astana rider attacked and I got a bit closed in on the right side of the road in what turned out to be the winning move with 1km to go.

"I tried to get across to Gilbert, but it was just a little bit too late.

"Second is not a bad start."

Late attempts by Alexandre Vinokourov and Fabian Cancellara to foil Gilbert proved futile, the Belgian countering each in commanding fashion.

"In the final kilometres I knew Cancellara was going to attack, and I knew he'd attack where he did," Gilbert said. "With the big engine he has, he is capable of coming from the back and taking everyone by surprise.

"And when I saw that he was up the road on his own, that's when I knew I could go."

Looking to today's stage three, a 198km slog from Olonne-sur-Mer to Redon, it shapes as a day out for the sprinters.

It is the first time in the history of the Tour that Redon has hosted a stage finish as it winds its way out of the Vendee region and into Brittany, crossing the Loire River on the imposing Saint-Nazaire bridge that featured in a team time trial in 2000.

The bridge spans 3356m and reaches a height of 66m and is the highest point of the stage.

There are also 20 intermediate bonus points for the taking at Saint-Hilaire-de-Chaleons.

Meanwhile, Queenslander Shara Gillow continues to impress in women's cycling, winning stage two and taking the overall lead in the Tour of Italy.

Gillow won stage two of the Giro Donne on Saturday from British rider Sharon Laws.

The Bizkaia-Durango team member has a 4sec lead on Laws.

The 23-year-old is enjoying a breakout year, having won the open time trial title in January at the national road championships.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AFP