Stage


Prologue results: Tony Martin waits three hours to see his best time eclipsed by Fabian Cancellara


9 Big Photos from the Prologue — sirotti
Prologue results
1  Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank 8.9 km in 10:00
2  Tony Martin (GER) Team HTC - Columbia           + 0:10
3  David Millar (GBR) Garmin - Transitions         + 0:20
4  Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack           + 0:22
5  Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky                        + 0:23
6  Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP) Astana           + 0:27
7  Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions         + 0:28
8  Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack           + 0:28
9  Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky                  + 0:32
10 Linus Gerdemann (GER) Team Milram               + 0:35
Full Results — letour.fr
Cancellara wins prologue time trial — cyclingnews
De eerste gele trui is voor Cancellara — sporza.be
David Millar & Geraint Thomas shine in Tour prologue — news.bbc.co.uk
Fabian Cancellara wins 2010 Tour de France prologue in Rotterdam, takes yellow jersey — velonews
  Prologue Highlights: Cancellara es el primer líder del Tour de Francia 2010 (01:22 spanish) — rtve.es
Andy Schleck furious over Tour prologue ride — cyclingnews
Cancellara unleashes a perfect 10 minutes of power — cyclingnews
Rogers pleased with prologue — cyclingnews
Armstrong content with Tour prologue result — cyclingnews
No time bonuses mean Cancellara could enjoy long ride in yellow — velonews
Contador not happy after time trial — eurosport
AP Prologue Photos — telegraph.co.uk
  Prologue Highlights/Verslag (flemish, restricted to Belgium) —sporza.be
9 Big Photos from the Prologue — sirotti
  Rider Finishes: L Armstrong (01:06)  |  F Cancellara (00:43)  |  A Contador (01:07) — versus
  Winner's Interview (01:22) — versus
  Prologue Highlights with Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen (02:25) — versus
  Prologue Recap with Bob Roll (03:07) — versus
Graham Watson photos — grahamwatson
  ITV stage 1 podcast with Matt Rendell and Chris Boardman (11:05) — ITV
Tour de France prologue: Chris Horner's Team RadioShack diary — blog.oregonlive
  Lance Armstrong post-prologue interview (02:25) — versus

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The prologue route crosses the Erasmus bridge (Erasmusbrug) in Rotterdam (photo courtesy of Iris V)

June 25 post; July 2 update: The 2010 Tour de France like the last Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana starts in the Netherlands. On Saturday July 3rd, a 8.9 km prologue through downtown Rotterdam kicks off the 97th Tour de France.

It will be a relatively easy time trial course with a limited number of turns and just two bumps including the crossing of the Erasmus bridge (Erasmusbrug), a cable stayed bridge linking the north and south halves of Rotterdam. The course starts and finishes on the south half near Zuiderpark.

This is a course for pure power so Saxo Bank's Fabian Cancellara is the logical choice to win the first day and the first Yellow Jersey as he has done in the past (2007 in London). HTC-Columbia's Tony Martin has beaten Cancellara in two time trials this year and was just three seconds back at the slick, technical prologue at Tour de Suisse early in June. The notorious Dutch wind off the North Sea could change the expected outcome of course.

Levi Leiphemer says, "We are all racing for second place." — Steve

Prologue ITT Start Order and Times (CEST)
Prologue could be decided early — velonews
  Prologue Roundtable Preview (03:30) — versus

(Y! 2010 Edition)