London – On a day when the Tour de France made a rare start in Britain and riders sped past Parliament and Buckingham Palace, the shadow of drugs remained inescapable in cycling.
Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara won the prologue Saturday as the sport’s premier event began amid heavy security and with a distinct British accent.
Cancellara, the world time-trial champion who also won the Tour prologue in 2004, completed the 4.9-mile race through downtown London in 8 minutes, 50 seconds. He is strictly a time-trial rider and is not expected to compete for the title in the three-week race.
“I am really happy. That’s for sure,” said Cancellara, who will wear the leader’s yellow jersey for today’s first stage from London to Canterbury. “I will do the maximum to defend it.”
Andreas Kloeden of Germany was 13 seconds behind. George Hincapie of the U.S. was next, 23 seconds behind.
Britain’s Bradley Wiggins, looking to bring the home fans a victory, was fourth among the 189 riders in the race against the clock.
The prologue took place two years to the day after suicide bombers killed 52 people on London’s public transit network and as the country confronts a new wave of terrorism. Hundreds of police were deployed.
Cancellara’s victory clearly brightened the mood of his team. Bjarne Riis, the manager of Team CSC, said he would stay home this year. In May, he jolted cycling by admitting he used the banned performance enhancer EPO on his way to winning the 1996 Tour.
“What’s really hard is when we saw that he’s not with us on the Tour, but everybody’s holding up,” Cancellara said.
Results
At London
Prologue
4.9-mile individual time trial
1. Fabian Cancellara, Switzerland, Team CSC, 8 minutes, 50 seconds.
2. Andreas Kloeden, Germany, Astana, 13 seconds behind.
3. George Hincapie, United States, Discovery Channel, :23.
4. Bradley Wiggins, Britain, Cofidis, same time.
5. Vladimir Gusev, Russia, Discovery Channel, :25.
6. Vladimir Karpets, Russia, Discovery Channel, :26.
7. Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstan, Astana, :30.
8. Thomas Dekker, Netherlands, Rabobank, :31.
9. Manuel Quinziato, Italy, Liquigas, :32.
10. Benoit Vaugrenard, France, Francaise des Jeux, same time.
11. David Zabriskie, United States, Team CSC, same time.
12. Jose Ivan Gutierrez, Spain, Caisse d’Epargne, :33.
13. David Millar, Britain, Saunier Duval-Prodir, same time.
14. Mikel Astarloza, Spain, Euskaltel-Euskadi, same time.
15. Alberto Contador, Spain, Discovery Channel, :35
16. Andrey Kashechkin, Kazakhstan, Astana, same time.
17. Cadel Evans, Australia, Predictor-Lotto, :36
18. William Bonnet, France, Credit Agicole, same time.
19. Sylvain Chavanel, France, Cofidis, same time.
20. Michael Rogers, Australia, T-Mobile, :37.
Also
26. Levi Leipheimer, United States, Discovery Channel, :40.
29. Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuania, Discovery Channel, :42.
37. Sergio Paulinho, Portugal, Discovery Channel, :44.
48. Egoi Martinez, Spain, Discovery Channel, :47.
50. Yaroslav Popovych, Ukraine, Discovery Channel, :48.
71. Benjamin Noval Gonzalez, Spain, Discovery Channel, :53.
71. Christopher Horner, United States, Predictor-Lotto, same time.
75. Christian Vandevelde, United States, Team CSC, same time.
131. Fred Rodriguez, United States, Predictor-Lotto, 1:05
Upcoming stages
Today – First stage, London-Canterbury, 203 kilometers (126.1 miles)
Monday – Second stage, Dunkerque-Gand, 168.5 (104.7)
Tuesday – Third stage, Waregem-Compiegne, 236.5 (147)
Wednesday – Fourth stage, Villers-Cotterets-Joigny, 193 (119.9)
Thursday – Fifth stage, Chablis-Autun, medium mountain, 182.5 (113.4)
Friday – Sixth stage, Semur-en-Auxois-Bourg-en-Bresse, 199.5 (124)
