FRANCE: Jurgen Van den Broeck of Belgium held off a late charge from a small group of riders in the final climb to win the first stage of the Criterium du Dauphine Monday, while Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan took the yellow jersey. Van den Broeck completed the 144km stage in the unofficial time of 3 hours, 36 minutes, 42 seconds. Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver of Spain took second place, six seconds behind Van den Broeck, and one second clear of Cadel Evans of Australia. Vinokourov overtook Lars Boom for the overall lead.