Cycling Live

Tour de France - *Prologue London

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Live Comments

  1. 18:24 - Thanks for following our LIVE coverage and join us again tomorrow for complete coverage of the Tour's opening stage, again starting from London at 11:00 BST!

  2. 18:23 - FABIAN CANCELLARA IS IN THE YELLOW JERSEY - AND HERE'S YOUR TOP TEN: 1. F. Cancellara CSC 00:08:50.740 2. A. Klöden Astana +0:12.550 3. B. Wiggins Cofidis +0:23.180 4. G. Hincapie Discovery Channel +0:23.10 5. V. Gusev Discovery Channel +0:25.250 6. V. Karpets Caisse d'Epargne +0:26.20 7. A. Vinokourov Astana +0:29.730 8. T. Dekker Rabobank +0:30.470 9. M. Quinziato Liquigas +0:32.100 10. B. Vaugrenard Française des jeux +0:32.170

  3. 18:18 - Vino finished seventh, and Oscar Pereiro is across just behind Mick Rogers in 21st to show that he has every intention of challenging for that yellow jersey, which he was denied last year by Floyd Landis, and may still yet claim if Landis' win is ever wiped off of the books for that positive testosterone test. It is official though, world champion Fabian Cancellara has won the Tour de France prologue for a second time adding to his 2004 triumph.

  4. 18:17 - Mick Rogers doesn't even make top-10, the former triple world time trial champion is a mediocre 20th at 37 seconds off pace, and perhaps the T-Mobile rider is saving himself for a run at the GC....

  5. 18:15 - THAT MUST BE THE WINNING TIME!! The world time trial champion is across in eight minutes and 56 seconds!! There's no way Oscar Pereiro or anyone can catch that massive time, a full 13 seconds faster than Andreas Kloeden.

  6. 18:14 - French home favourite and Dauphine Liebere victor Christophe Maureau across the line in 51st a full 36 seconds behind one of his principal rivals for the yellow jersey Andreas Kloeden. Maureau finished a surprise eighth last year. The man who finished two places in front of him Denis Menchov is across the line in 23rd at 27 seconds off pace..... Another GC challenger Evans pulls out a solid time of 16th at 23 seconds back....

  7. 4.5KM - Cancellara through the intermediate split in a full seven seconds quicker than Kloeden, looks headed for victory!!

  8. 18:09 - TWO BIG NAMES ACROSS: American GC contender Levi Leipheimer (Discovery) through in 22nd at 27 seconds off pace, and last year's winner of both the first and the last stage, Thor Hushovd, is across the line right behind him in 23rd at 27.88 seconds back.

  9. 18:07 - Of course Mick Rogers, who just took his own start, could do some damage, as the Australian has won multiple world titles in the TT discipline.

  10. 18:06 - THE FAVOURITE IS OFF: Fabian Cancellara, the world champion and perhaps the last man who can challenge Kloeden's time, is off and running, his rainbow jersey shining in the London sunlight.......

  11. 18:04 - FINAL BRITON ACROSS THE LINE! Wiggins makes it close, but can only manage third place!! He finds himself 10.6 seconds off of Kloeden's fabulous time, and that is a wonderful performance for Britain, if not the one the nation and the rider were looking for.

  12. 18:02 - Tom Boonen is into 30th place a full 32 seconds off pace, and his hopes of a yellow jersey in one of the opening stages via a sprint win may be unacheivable. The former world champion finished much better last year, landing himself 12th at the Strasbourg prologue.

  13. 18:01 - Vino is putting in a huge challenge of his team-mate's pace, but will only cross fifth a full 17.18 seconds behind the leading Astana rider.

  14. 18:01 - Millar, who won the opening stage in 2000 and just returned from a two-year doping suspension last season, is across the line in ninth a full 20.3 seconds off pace, and the home-fans will have to rely on Wiggins, who is across the 4.5 kilometre split in third at eight seconds behind Andreas Kloeden..... He will have to fly to give the home fans something to cheer about.

  15. 17:56 - BRITISH NEWS: Jeremy Cavendish is across the line in 52nd at 39 seconds off pace in his Tour de France debut, and Bradley Wiggins is off of the ramp and winding through the streets of the capital.......

  16. 17:56 - Carlos Sastre across the line in 72, loses a full 43 seconds on Kloeden in the GC early on, as the Spanish CSC leader finished fourth right behind the German in last year's race, but will begin with a relatively huge deficit this time around.

  17. 17:54 - Thomas Dekker is across the line in fifth at a full 18 seconds behind Kloeden.

  18. 17:49 - DAVID MILLAR HAS TAKEN HIS START FROM THE WHITEHALL RAMP: The British hopeful is off and cruising past Westminster, as he has to be fired up for today's main event. Another favourite for the GC, Alexandre Vinokourov, takes off right behind the prologue specialist sporting his customary shades.

  19. 17:47 - Last year's second-place finisher George Hincapie crosses the line in provisional second again, but is a full 10 seconds behind Kloeden.

  20. 17:38 - A BRILLIANT RIDE BY ANDREAS KLOEDEN!! The Tour favourite, according to Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche, is more than 12 seconds clear of Gusev's time as he takes a massive lead!! A stunning performance as the German two-time podium finisher has thrown down the gauntlet.

  21. 17:35 - Frank Schleck, a winner on the Alpe D'Huez stage last year, is 60th fastest in this prologue and clearly saving himself for the mountains..... In other news, Andreas Kloeden is on the road. He will want a strong performance, possibly top-10, today. Kloeden of course finished third in last year's Tour, or second depending on whether Floyd Landis is found guilty of doping during the race by his American Federation.

  22. 17:26 - An excellent run for Italy's Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas), who finds himself in third-place sandwiching in between Karpets and Zabriskie, just pipping the American to finish seven seconds behind Gusev.

  23. 17:24 - Andrey Kashechkin across the line seventh, just 10 seconds off pace! An excellent run for the Kazakh Astana support man, who is possibly looking to reprise his role as a Grand Tour podium finisher after a third-place at last year's Vuelta, behind Valverde and winning team-mate Alexandre Vinokourov. Still, with both Vino and Andreas Kloeden for Astana vying for the GC, it's tough to see how Kashechkin's role will pan out.

  24. 17:21 - A big favourite has come across the line! Alejandro Valverde into 19th at 9 seconds off pace. The Caisse D'Epargne team leader, who won the ProTour last year and has been the shining hope of cycling since beating Lance Armstrong in stage 10 on the Tour two years ago, is still looking to finish the Tour de France for the first time after pulling out with an injury for the second consecutive year last season. Nonetheless, the Spaniard is a major contender for the GC.

  25. 17:13 - Tour of Germany winner Jens Voigt is across the line in 24th at 23 seconds off pace. A decent showing for the CSC rider.

  26. 17:05 - Alberto Contador (Discovery), a specialist climber, puts in a surprisingly good run at just 9.4 seconds off pace. Contador, the Paris-Nice victor earlier this year, shows his intentions to be a real competitor for the GC!

  27. 17:02 - The first British rider is across, as Charlie Wegelius (Liquigas) is through in 40th place at 31 seconds behind Gusev. Of course the two Britons we're waiting for are the specialists, Bradley Wiggins and David Millar, both of whom have a chance to win today.

  28. 16:55 - José Ivan Gutierrez across the line in fourth at eight seconds behind Gussev.

  29. 16:53 - GUSEV ON THE SUCCESS OF RUSSIA TODAY: "Karpets was the best young rider two, three years ago so he was motivated for this Tour because it's my first time and I wanted to do my best shape."

  30. 16:49 - YOUR CURRENT TOP-TEN: 1. V. Karpets Caisse d'Epargne 00:09:16.760 2. D. Zabriskie CSC +0:6.220 3. M. Astarloza Euskaltel +0:7.120 4. W. Bonnet Credit Agricole +0:9.450 5. P. Savoldelli Astana +0:11.870 6. S. Rosseler Quick Step +0:12.990 7. T. Vaitkus Discovery Channel +0:15.620 8. A. Colom Astana +0:16.950 9. S. Paulinho Discovery Channel +0:18.210 10. R. Scholz Gerolsteiner +0:18.620

  31. 16:44 - Another Russian takes the top spot!! Vladimir Gusev beats his compatriot Karpets by just one second to come across in nine minutes and 15 seconds and claim the lead! Brilliant performance by the Discovery Channel rider.

  32. 16:38 - Cedric Vasseur (Quick Step) across the line in 21st at 27 seconds down.

  33. 16:30 - STARTS FROM 16h30: Albasini, Moreni, Gonzalo, Voeckler, Gusev, Fofonov, M. Fothen, Bossoni, Txurruka, Gadret, Weening, F. Rodriguez, Vandevelde, Burghardt, I. Gutierrez, A. Efimkin, Canada, Iglinskiy, Sieberg, Steegmans, Séb. Chavanel, Wegelius, Verbrugghe, Jalabert, Lefèvre, Contador, Hinault, Wegmann, Valjavec, Isasi.

  34. 16:24 - Another former white jersey across the line, as Discovery Channel's Yaroslav Popovych finishes in 13th at 22 seconds behind Karpets.

  35. 16:12 - KARPETS TAKES THE LEAD!! The big russian is more than six seconds ahead of the American David Zabriskie, who was one second faster than Astarloza, and is now a major contender to take the yellow jersey today with a reference time of 9'16"!

  36. 4.5KM - Vladimir Karpets (Caisse d'Epargne), the 2004 white jersey, is in form this season with wins on the Tour of Catalonia and the Tour of Switzerland. The Russian could be a key lieuteinant for Alejandro Valverde, and today is playing his own card as he is fastest at the split....

  37. 4.5KM - Zabriskie through in the fastest time at the check-point, 2 seconds quicker than O'Grady.

  38. 8KM** - One of the day's favourites is off: David Zabriskie (CSC), winner of the 2005 opening time trial at Noirmoutiers, takes his start.

  39. 15:56 - Stuart O'Grady crashes! The Australian (CSC), who set the fastest time at the 4.5km checkpoint, takes a turn too wide and ends up on the ground. He's up and riding again but on another bike...

  40. 15:53 - Savoldelli across the line in the third fastest times, five seconds behind Astarloza's leading mark of nine minutes and 24 seconds.

  41. 15:48 - Mikel Astarloza crosses the line three seconds faster than Bonnet to take the provisional lead, and American Christopher Horner is 20 seconds off pace in seventh. Stuart O'Grady is in 35th a full 50 seconds off pace.

  42. 15:46 - Two-time Tour of Italy winner and one of Astana's stars, Paolo Savoldelli is off and he could do a bit of damage today.....

  43. 15:45 - A third-best time provisionally for Sergio Paulinho (Discovery). He is 6" behind William Bonnet at the finish line.

  44. 15:35 - A bit of interesting news to report, Spanish sprinter Oscar Freire, who won two stages last year, did sign up at the start desk today for Rabobank. The triple world champion had been questionable due to a lingering injury, but it's good to hear that he's going to be racing.

  45. 15:32 - German specialist Bert Grabsch with a disappointing third-place provisionally at 17 seconds off pace, of course he will be knocked down quite a few rungs before the day is through.

  46. 15:23 - FASTEST TIME FORE WILLIAM BONNET (Crédit Agricole): He takes the 7,9km course in 9'26". He also threw down the best time at the check-point (KM 4,5). The Frenchman finished the course in an average speed of 50km/h. Tomas Vaitkus is second so far.

  47. 15:22 - Here are the start times for your five favourites: David Zabriskie (CSC) who leaves at 16h, David Millar (Saunier Duval) at 17h49, Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis) at 17h55, Fabian Cancellara (CSC) at 18h06 and Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) at 17h07.

  48. 15:16 - The Prologue course has been designed to go past some of the Capital's most famous and recognisable locations in the world. Starting from Whitehal, around Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Downing Street, the Cenotaph, past the World Heritage sites of Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and then passing by Buckingham Palace, through Wellington Arch and into London's Royal Parks (Hyde Park, St James's Park and Green Park)........

  49. 15:14 - Degano (Barloworld) puts down the first reference mark at 10'20" for an average speed of 45,9km/h. That time shouldn't last long, as Enrico Lobato (Saunier Duval), who started right behind him, was within sites of the finish line when Degano crossed .

  50. 15:03 - The sun is out for this prologue, not something we can say has happened over the past two weeks in London, just ask Wimbledon fans.

  51. 15:00 - AND WE'RE OFF! Italy's Enrico Degano (Barloworld) is the first rider to take off as the Tour de France has officially started! A historic moment in London....

  52. 14:00 - Welcome to LIVE coverage of today's Tour de France opener, a long-awaited 7.9 kilometre jaunt through the streets of London! Full coverage starts at 15:00 BST.