Cancellara Dominates Day One Again

The Progress Report
Racing in the 96th edition of the Tour de France commenced at 4.00pm with Kenny van Hummel (SKS) the first to begin the 15.5km time trial. But it was the 17th rider who many fans in Monaco wanted to see race. Lance Armstrong was the first rider from the Astana team to do the opening stage and he didn’t disappoint, as he posted the best time of the day at both the intermediate check (11’39”) and the finish (20’12”). He was in demand from the media and he eventually appeared to make a comment about his race 30 minutes after finishing. “It’s a difficult course. It’s very technical, it was hard to find a rhythm. My last Tour was years away… but what a beautiful race. The crowds are great. And I think the best way to sum it all up is that I had a good time.”

By the time Armstrong emerged to offer his appraisal, his time had been beaten by two riders. Tony Martin (THR) who was 12” faster at the 7.5km mark and 3” quicker than the American at the finish. Then came Armstrong’s team-mate, Levi Leipheimer – the winner of the stage 19 time trial in his previous appearance at the Tour, in 2007 – who was three seconds slower than Martin at the intermediate check but three seconds faster at the finish. Leipheimer’s average speed was 46.4km/h.
The top of the standings remained unchanged after the arrival of David Millar (GRM) who was fourth fastest at the intermediate check and fifth at the finish after a scare on a sharp right turn which almost forced him to unclip from the pedals on the descent. The winner of the opening time trial of the 2000 Tour finished 18” slower than Leipheimer.
It wasn’t until the 131st starter that the top five was altered; Roman Kreuziger (LIQ) posted a time of 11’30” at the intermediate check and at the finish he was just 2.1 seconds behind Leipheimer. Then came a charge by Kloden who was fourth best at the 7.5km mark but then surged over the final part of the course, taking eight seconds out of the time set by his Astana team-mate. Kloden’s average speed was 46.7km/h.

The GC Guys Begin Their Quest
When the route was announced for this opening stage, there was almost universal belief that the general classification candidates would fight it out for honors in the time trial. The prediction came true, to an extent. The 2007 champion Alberto Contador was second, the two-time runner-up Cadel Evans was fifth… but it was the time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara who dominated the day with an outstanding performance. The Swiss Saxo Bank rider won the prologues of the 2004 and 2007 Tours de France and today he obliterated his rivals with a performance that was 18 seconds faster than anyone else.

Cancellara The King Of The TT
Lance Armstrong can be happy with a top 10 finish and 22” separated him from his Astana team-mate Contador but 18 second ahead of the 2007 champion was the master of the time trial, the 2006 and 2007 world champion and Olympic gold medalist, Fabian Cancellara. He earned his fourth stage victory in the Tour de France with an outstanding ride that was strong on the climb and phenomenal on the descent. He was six seconds behind Contador’s time at the top of the Beausoleil climb but 18” ahead of the Spaniard by the time he reached harbour. Contador’s consolation is the opportunity to wear the polka-dot jersey for the first time.