What a scare during the opening prologue for the 2006 Tour de France. It's American Floyd Landis' turn to begin his bike ride, but the platform is empty.
After the carnage of Black Friday in which 13 riders were dropped from the starting roster, I was thinking anything could have happened.
As it turned out, Landis got a late start out of the gate by about 8 or 9 seconds. In the standings, he ended up 9.26 seconds behind prologue winner Norwegian Thor Hushovd, a sprinter who blistered through the course in Strasbourg in 8 minutes and 17 seconds — a speed of nearly 32 mph.
It was George Hincapie who carried the day for the Americans. Wearing number “3” but starting last in place of retired cyclist Lance Armstrong, Hincapie posted the second best time in the 4.4-mile long prologue, less than a second behind Hushovd.
Last year's prologue winner, David Zabriskie of Team CSC, finished in 3rd place, about 4 1/2 seconds behind Hushovd.
Even with the miscue at the beginning, Landis finished in the top 10. Another American with a good time, Chris Horner riding for Davitamon Lotto, finished in 19th place (15 seconds back). Other Americans: Bobby Julich finished 29th about 18 second behind; and Christian Vandevelde and Levi Leipheimer finished in 35th and 36th place, about 21 seconds behind. Fred Rodriguez, riding for Davitamon-Lotto, finished in 112th, 38 second back.
I'm sure Hincapie, Zabriskie or any other rider would have liked to start the Tour de France in the yellow jersey, but the margins are so slim as to be meaningless in a three-week race.
As for Landis, OLN commentators attributed that late start to a flat tire. (The Floyd Landis blog reports that his rear disk wheel suffered a cut shortly before the start; it puts the time loss at 9 seconds.) Interviewed after the race, his trainer was dumbfounded to hear the Landis got a late start.
On Sunday, the peloton takes a 115-mile bike ride through the countryside, beginning and ending in Strasbourg. The course is flat and promises a sprint finish.
The top 10 are:
1. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole
2. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, .73 seconds behind
3. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, 4.21 seconds
4. Sebastian Lang (G), Gerolsteiner, 4.8 seconds
5. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, 4.92 seconds
6. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), CSC, 4.93 seconds
7. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 6.3 seconds
8. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery, 8.02 seconds
9. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 9.26 seconds
10. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caisse d'Epargne, 10.09 seconds
More standings and news at CyclingNews and VeloNews.
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