DUNKIRK, France -- Lance Armstrong began his bid for a third
consecutive Tour de France title Saturday by finishing third in the
prologue of cycling's showcase event.
|  | | With his tongue hanging out virtually the entire time trial, Christophe Moreau of France posted the quickest time in the time trial prologue for the Tour de France. |
The leader's yellow jersey went to Christophe Moreau of France
on the opening day of the three-week race.
Armstrong completed the 5.09-mile individual time trial through
the streets of this port city in 9 minutes, 24 seconds. He was four
seconds off Moreau's pace and a second slower than Igor Gonzalez
Galdeano of Spain.
Jan Ullrich, the 1997 champion who is considered Armstrong's
main rival, was tied for fourth with Florent Brard of France.
Armstrong was the last of the 189 riders to start. The Texan
wore the yellow jersey he sported as the leader at the end of the race last
year.
"I'm not disappointed," Armstrong said. "I've been feeling
very good the last few weeks and that's what's important."
Moreau, his tongue stuck out between his teeth in trademark
fashion, rode what he called a perfect race in cloudy
conditions, with the threat of rain never far away.
"I'm feeling total happiness," said the 30-year-old.
"This victory will be great for my morale," he added. "I'm
now better in the mountains and I'm still a good prologue
rider."
The last home rider to win the Tour was Bernard Hinault, who
completed the last of his five victories in 1985.
Moreau is refusing to look too far ahead, however, after
just one stage.
"I had good sensations but I'm not speaking about an overall
victory," he said. "There are still three weeks to go and
Armstrong is a very hard rider to beat."
Spain's Carlos Sastre, the third ONCE rider to finish in the
top 10, set the early pace with a time of 9:34.
As the weather deteriorated, with rain starting to come down
and the wind getting up, it began to seem like that time would
not be beaten.
But Florent Brard, the French Festina rider who set off 83
minutes after Sastre, became the new man to beat following a
blistering run of 9:27.
Gonzalez Galdeano, winner of the prologue at the 1999 Tour
of Spain, bettered that mark with his time of 9:23.
Australian Bradley McGee, one of the favorites for the
prologue, was surprisingly 12 seconds outside that mark and
eventually finished down in 12th.
Santiago Botero of Colombia, the King of the
Mountains last year, posted a highly encouraging time of 9:30, which was
good enough for 10th place, before the big guns rolled out.
Moreau, attacking from the start, received deafening cheers
on his way to the finish line and then watched as the last
riders out, Beloki, Ullrich and Armstrong, all fell short.
"I can't believe it," he said. "It's a dream for me.
Superb."
Armstrong is trying to become only the second American -- after
Greg LeMond -- to win the Tour de France three times and the first
to do so three years in a row.
Tens of thousands of fans lined the circuit in Dunkirk behind
metal barriers to catch a glimpse of the riders.
They applauded as Armstrong rode around the city, a far
different reception from what Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service
teammates were accorded on the eve of the race.
They were jeered Friday night during a presentation ceremony for
the 21 teams. Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc attributed the cold
welcome to U.S. Postal's decision not to include team member and
local star Cedric Vasseur on the Tour squad.
The first stage Sunday is a 121-mile run over the flat countryside
of France's northern Opal Coast, between St. Omer and Boulogne sur Mer. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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ALSO SEE
Tour de France results -- prologue
French cycling fans jeer Armstrong and team
Armstrong knows to pace himself for Tour de France
Tour de France: Day-by-day
Favorites for the 2001 Tour de France
Armstrong seeks a 'Tour de Lance' three-peat
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