The race was won by Italian Davide Rebellin from Gerolsteiner, who finished second last year.

The Mont Ventoux stage saw a winning break by Cadel Evans and Robert Gesink.

Evans took the stage victory as Gesink moved into the overall lead.

The race organisers also decided to exclude Astana, the team of the 2007 edition winner Alberto Contador, due to "damage caused by the team during the 2007 Tour de France".

[2] This stage was originally supposed to start in Amilly, but because of a storm with gale force winds and rain, the route was shortened by 91 km (57 mi) and started in La Chapelotte instead.