Cadel Evans was given a glimpse of the kind of climbing power he might be up against at this year's Tour de France by Spanish rival Alejandro Valverde on Saturday.

Going on recent race polls Valverde is the man most likely to stop the 31-year-old Evans from making yellow-jersey history for Australia on July 27 in Paris.

There might be another 20 stages to go, but Valverde wasted no time in getting a taste for the race's big prize.

The 28-year-old Spaniard began as a big favorite for the first stage, which after 197.5km of undulating terrain ended with a tricky 1.7km ascent of the Cadoudal climb.

And he didn't disappoint his Caisse d'Epargne team employers with a second career stage win, which handed him the yellow jersey for the first time in his four participations.

"The stage suited me perfectly," said the Spaniard, whose last win on the Tour came on the 10th stage at Courchevel in the Alps in 2005.

"At the end it was a case of calculating the distance and the timing, and I got it right."

Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen was poised for a famous win after doing well to wipe out an ambitious, 1km-long attack by Germany's Stefan Schumacher, but the Team Columbia rider was then upstaged himself by the Spanish puncher.

With no prologue for the first time since 1967, and with Valverde programmed to be up the front at the end, it was crucial for all the yellow-jersey men to limit their losses.

Evans finished sixth, but with no time bonuses usually awarded to the top stage finishers this year he is now just one second behind Valverde overall.

For Silence-Lotto team manager Herman Frison, the most important thing is keeping Evans out of trouble.

"Cadel was strong today, and he did well because it was a potentially dangerous stage," said Frison.

"We told him to make sure he stayed up near the front and even try his chance at the win."

He added: "It's not a problem for us that Valverde has got the yellow jersey at this stage. We knew he was one of the favorites to win the stage.

"It's early days yet. What matters for us is having the yellow jersey in Paris."