Tour de France: last flat stage before race in mountains

All 170 remaining riders took the start in Bordeaux, refreshed after a rest day Monday, their first of two in the three-week race that ends in Paris on July 23.

Photo: Tour de France: last flat stage before race in mountains

Serhiy Honchar, the first Ukrainian to wear the race leader's yellow jersey, was one minute ahead of American Floyd Landis at the start of the 169.5-kilometer (105-mile) trek to Dax in the deep southwest of France.

The terrain was pancake-flat, which could favor sprinters looking for a final stage win before climbing experts take over in the Pyrenees, the AP reports.

Landis, 30, announced Monday that he has a fractured hip  that will require replacement. He is continuing the Tour and is among the favorites to succeed seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, but the planned surgery has made his long-term career prospects uncertain.