There’s Fallout to Tour Pileup

It was NASCAR come to small-town France, a 35-bike pileup on a tight turn that ended, after one stage, the Tour de France hopes of two U.S. riders.

But not those of Lance Armstrong. He escaped with some scrapes and bruises but nothing irretrievably lost (hopes) or broken (bones).

There were, however, tears and screams and snapped bones at the end of Stage 1. Four-time champion Armstrong had to grab the bike of a teammate to cross the finish line and two other U.S. hopefuls -- Tyler Hamilton and Levi Leipheimer -- had race-ending fractures.

Before the 2,109-mile race, Armstrong had often said that his goal in the first week was simply to stay out of trouble. Armstrong knew what he was talking about.

About 600 meters from the finish of the first stage, Spanish rider Jose Enrique Gutierrez seemed to touch wheels with another rider and lost his balance on a tight curve.

As Gutierrez and his bike fell, a chain reaction started that would have done the rush-hour 405 Freeway proud. It seemed as if a bowling ball had been rolled down the road, with bikes and riders skittering across the pavement.

Hamilton, who had been with Armstrong’s United States Postal Service team until signing with Danish Team CSC last year and who had been sixth, one spot ahead of Armstrong after Saturday’s prologue, did cross the finish line, but left immediately for a local hospital.

Two hours later, Hamilton walked out of the hospital with his arm in a sling, and in a television interview said his right collarbone was fractured and that he was “likely” out of the race.

Leipheimer, riding for the Dutch Rabobank team, which had finished eighth in last year’s Tour, also went to the hospital. Reporting to the Bicycling magazine Web site, Leipheimer called from the hospital Sunday night to say he had a broken bone in his hip and was out of the race.

The stage winner was Alessandro Petacchi of Italy. He crossed the finish line with his arms raised triumphantly, just ahead of the pack that would crash a few moments later. When Petacchi learned of the crash, he was critical of the layout of the finish.

“We’re made to wear helmetsbut then they give us a dangerous corner at the finish,” Petacchi said. “That is a finish that should not be on the route of the Tour de France.”

In his Web site report, Leipheimer also criticized the course. “The course was weird,” he said. “There’s no way there should have been a corner like that in the last kilometer.”

Race organizers defended the finish, saying it was no more than the best bicycle riders in the world should be able to handle.

Because of the massive crush of crashed riders at the finish, all those who were behind the main group were given the same time. That put Armstrong in eighth place overall, 11 seconds behind the leader, Australia’s Bradley McGee, who retained the yellow jersey he had earned in Saturday’s prologue.

Hamilton, in the unlikely event he could start today, was in sixth place.

Another Australian, Robbie McEwen finished just behind Petacchi’s time of 3 hours 44 minutes 33 seconds over the 104-mile course in Sunday’s stage. The two had sprinted to the end, heads down, legs pumping hard. Erik Zabel of Germany was a close third.

Before the finish, the ride had gone well for everyone.

History had gathered the cyclists in its embrace in the morning.

The 198 competitors began at a small roadhouse, Le Reveil Matin, in the Paris suburb of Montgeron. Some 100 years ago the first Tour de France had started at the same roadhouse. The Reveil Matin now serves burritos and salsa to go with steaks and frites, so things do change. But “sentiment” was the word of the morning.

“Ouch” was the word of the afternoon.

“It’s never good to crash,” Armstrong said. “We all just fell over and got piled on. It makes for a hard day with such a bad ending. But it should be OK.”

Armstrong’s USPS teammate George Hincapie, who was riding near Armstrong, also fell and suffered superficial cuts. And Armstrong crossed the finish line on the bike of another teammate, Jose Luis Rubiera. A USPS spokesman said Armstrong had a flat tire in the crash and Rubiera handed his bike to Armstrong.

Today’s stage is similar to Sunday’s -- through the rolling countryside of eastern France -- 126-plus miles from La Ferte-sous-Jouarre to Sedan.

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Tour de France

Highlights from the first stage of the Tour de France:

*--* * Stage: 104 miles from Montgeron to Meaux. Riders departed from Stade de France, crossed through Paris in a slow, ceremonial procession, before the race start in Montgeron * Winner: Alessandro Petacchi, Italy, Fassa Bortolo, 3 hours 44 minutes 33 seconds * How others fared: Four-time champion Lance Armstrong was caught in a crash near the finish, crossed the line in 107th position. U.S. rider Tyler Hamilton fractured a collarbone. He placed 83rd. Germany’s Jan Ullrich, a Tour winner in 1997, avoided a fall and took 27th spot * Quote of the Day: “We’re made to wear a helmet, but then they give us a dangerous corner so close to the finish. That’s something that should not be on the route in such an important race as the Tour de France.” -- Petacchi * Next stage: La Ferte-sous-Jouarre to Sedan, a 126.48-mile route toward France’s border with Belgium, where German troops broke through during their invasion of France in 1940 * On the Web: For live updates of each day’s Tour de France stage, complete standings, cyclist profiles and course information, go to latimes.com/tour

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