Tour begins amid shadow of scandal
LONDON – On a day when the Tour de France made a rare start in Britain and riders sped past Parliament and Buckingham Palace, the shadow of drugs remained inescapable in cycling.
Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara won the prologue Saturday as the sport’s premier event began amid heavy security and with a distinct British accent.
Cancellara, the world time-trial champion who also won the Tour prologue in 2004, completed the 4.9-mile race through downtown London in 8 minutes, 50 seconds. He is strictly a time-trial rider and is not expected to compete for the title in the three-week race.
“I am really happy, that’s for sure,” said Cancellara, who will wear the leader’s yellow jersey for today’s first stage from London to Canterbury. “I will do the maximum to defend it.”
Andreas Kloeden of Germany was 13 seconds behind. George Hincapie of the United States was next, 23 seconds off the pace. Britain’s Bradley Wiggins, looking to bring the home fans a victory, was fourth among 189 riders in the race against the clock.
The prologue took place two years to the day after suicide bombers killed 52 people on London’s public transit network and as the country confronts a new wave of terrorism. Hundreds of police were deployed.
Cancellara’s victory clearly brightened the mood of his team. Bjarne Riis, the manager of Team CSC, said he would stay home this year. In May, he jolted cycling by admitting he used the banned performance enhancer EPO on his way to winning the 1996 Tour. That immediately turned him into an outcast of sorts among race officials.
“What’s really hard is when we saw that he’s not with us on the Tour, but everybody’s holding up,” Cancellara said. “Today was a very important day for the team. … There are a lot of problems in cycling, but I want to look to the future. And if you keep looking back at the past, of course, it’s hard.”
Cycling has been battered by doping scandals, accusations and admissions the past year. That’s saying a lot for a sport linked to widespread use of banned drugs for decades.
Riis is not alone in sitting out this year. Others excluded or not attending this Tour are: sprint ace Alessandro Petacchi, Team Milram boss Gianluigi Stanga, Astana riders Matthias Kessler and Eddy Mazzoleni, Tinkoff riders Joerg Jaksche and American Tyler Hamilton.
Tour officials, fearing that fans will turn away, required all riders to sign a new International Cycling Union anti-doping commitment.