Lance Armstrong tore through a 9.6-mile individual time trial course in Monaco at 20:12 on Saturday morning, finishing in 10th place on the first stage of the 2009 Tour de France.
It followed by nearly four years Armstrong's declaration of “Vive Le Tour” as he bade farewell to professional cycling from the top step of the podium in Paris with his 7th Tour de France win in 2005.
Armstrong was the 18th cyclist on the course and set an early best time. By the end of the day, after all 180 riders had finished, he had only dropped to 10th.
Swiss time trial phenom Fabian Cancellara had the best time of 19:32. He'll start in yellow to start Stage 2, a 116-mile race from Monaco to Brignoles.
Four cyclists from Team Astana ranked in the top 10. They were Alberto Contador (2nd), Andreas Kloden (4th), Levi Leipheimer (6th) and Armstrong (10th).
More details at 2009 Tour de France At-A-Glance
Target
Armstrong's time gave the others a target to shoot for, and his best time was soon toppled by his Astana teammate Leipheimer at 20:03. On Twitter:
“I finished a few min ago, got best time right now:) means I have to wait around until someone beats me, I doubt it will hold up.”
The big guns were scheduled still later. Cancellara was the third from the last to start. Last year's winner, Carlos Sastre, was the last cyclist to start; he finished in 21st place.
“Happy”
Before Leipheimer finished, Armstrong was also bested by Tony Martin of Team Columbia. Those three held the top 3 spots through at least two-thirds of the peloton. Armstrong's reaction after his ride:
“Overall I'm happy with my ride. Ready for 3 hard weeks!!”
Armstrong reacts in a video interview recorded for LiveStrong.com.
Versus viewers were greeted by the gang of four, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Bob Roll and Craig Hummer. It was good to see former pro cyclist Frankie Andreu back at work interviewing Armstrong, considering their past history involving doping allegations.
Stage 1 is being streamed online. Check CyclingFans.com for all the updated links. CyclingNews and VeloNews also have ongoing live updates.
No yellow for Sastre
Interestingly, defending champ Sastre did not wear the yellow jersey to start the race. VeloNews reports that even though that had been a tradition for the past couple of decades, there's nothing in the rule book about it and organizers decided to forego it.
Actually, no one had been “eligible” to wear a yellow jersey for the opening since 2005 because there hasn't been a defending champ the following year. Armstrong, Floyd Landis, Alberto Contador didn't ride again after they victories, for one reason or another.
The Top 10
1. Fabian Cancellara – Saxo Bank
2. Albert Contador – Astana, 18 seconds behind
3. Bradley Wiggins – Garmin Slipstream, 19 second
4. Andreas Kloden – Astana, 22 seconds
5. Cadel Evans – Silence Lotto, 23 seconds
6. Levi Leipheimer – Astana, 30 seconds
7. Roman Kreuzinger, Liquigas, 32 seconds
8. Tony Martin, Columbia, 33 seconds
9. Vincenzo Nibali – Liquigas, 37 seconds
10. Lance Armstrong – Astana, 40 seconds
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