Fabian Cancellara wins Tour de France prologue; Lance Armstrong finishes 4th

Cancellara wins Tour prologue; Armstrong 4th

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland won the prologue of the Tour de France on Saturday, with seven-time winner Lance Armstrong finishing fourth.

Cancellara clocked 10 minutes even for the individual time trial along 5.5 miles of rain-dampened roads in Rotterdam.

“That was a great opening for me and the team,” said Cancellara, referring to his Danish squad Saxo Bank. “It’s an amazing day. I’m really happy.”

Tony Martin of Germany, who had led for most of the day, was 10 seconds back in second. David Millar of Britain was third, 20 seconds off the pace and Armstrong was 22 seconds back.

Perhaps most impressively, the American edged out rival Alberto Contador — the defending Tour champion and top pre-race favorite — by five seconds.

Riders set off one by one down the starter’s ramp for the race against the clock. Contador went last — right after Cancellara and Armstrong.

They took a looping course over and back across the Meuse River that cuts through Europe’s largest port town, scaling three bridges including the distinctive Erasmus suspension bridge.

Persistent rain left the roads shiny and wet, and bikes spit it back as they cut through the water. Large crowds braved the wet weather under colorful ponchos along the route.

Martin had come saying a prologue victory was a “big goal,” and his strategy had been to push hard from despite the rain.

Some potential Tour title contenders were already facing disappointment: Britain’s Bradley Wiggins, an Olympic gold medalist and strong time-trial rider who was fourth in last year’s Tour, was 77th overall — 56 seconds behind Cancellara.

Armstrong came into the time trial predicting he wouldn’t win it, saying that he’s “lost it” in the discipline — one that he had dominated in his record run of Tour titles from 1999 to 2005.

But in his strong performance on Saturday, Armstrong actually appeared to slow down at one point to take a tight turn gingerly — a sign that above all he wanted to avoid a crash that could damage or derail his hopes for an eighth Tour victory.

The only other time trial this year is a 32-mile jaunt across southwestern France in Stage 19 — on the eve of the finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

But the layout also features a total of 23 mountain passes in the Alps and Pyrenees, which could play into the hands of Contador, who is considered the best climber.

Cancellara will don the race leader’s yellow jersey for Sunday’s 139-mile first stage across wind-swept lowlands from Rotterdam to Brussels.

The three-week race ends on July 25 in Paris.