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The Millar-Auge escape

Saunier Duval working for Millar

Big Ben

Horner kickin' it under the Tower Bridge

Leipheimer finished safely in mid-bunch

McEwen in green

And Cancellara in yellow

A few of Sunday's million plus English fans.

Two Englishmen trying to be French, albeit badly.

The Bobbie has almost everyone back from the road, except the little one.

Pre-riders head out from the start and under the Marble Arch Trafalgar Square.

To heck with podium girls, we had dancers in the village this morning.

Passing by Big Ben on the way to Canterbury

Millar attacked early on. He soon got company, but all were eventually caught.

The CSC boys had to do most of the chase work... at least until the sprinters' teams got antsy.

Lots of fans waiting in Canterbury

McEwen earns what he described as his best Tour win. He's got 12 now, so this one was special.

TV Techs contemplate how to wrap up the cables after the race, and set up the same for tomorrow.

The Tour de France no longer employs a small army of officials with stopwatches to time the riders. Instead, each rider has a transponder on his bike that sends information to official race computers to record his time when he crosses the finish line. The transponder also makes it possible to time each rider between intermediate points along the race route, wherever timing check stations are set up. During time trials, viewers can see how each rider stacks up at each intermediate checkpoint and know who is leading on the road, even though the riders have a staggered start. And we can know

While some team mechanics were scrambling to deal with the UCI’s clarification of equipment regulations, others were still building special bikes for the prologue late Friday afternoon. With dinnertime rapidly approaching Aussie Michael Rogers of T-Mobile was seen in conference with his team’s mechanics. They were speaking in front of a half-built aluminum time-trial bike. Across the parking lot, Saunier-Duval Prodir mechanics were busying themselves with tidying up the team truck. All of the bikes were snugly packed and ready for tomorrow’s ride into the heart of London. The common bond

Many riders finished their 7.9km prologue effort with an all-out sprint;world time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara began his winning ridewith a furious sprint, and maintained that blazing pace throughout thewinding course among London's historic sites to take the first yellow jerseyof the 94th Tour de France. Before the race, Cancellara said he wanted to show the world why he wore theworld-champion skinsuit for the time trial. And indeed he did.

Prologue results1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), CSC, 7.9km in 8:50 (53.7kph),2. Andreas Klöden (G), Astana, at 0:133. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:234. Bradley Wiggins (GB), Cofidis, at 0:235. Vladimir Gusev (Rus), Discovery Channel, at 0:256. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:267. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kz), Astana, at 0:308. Thomas Dekker (Nl), Rabobank, at 0:319. Manuel Quinziato (I), Liquigas, at 0:3210. Benoît Vaugrenard (F), Française des Jeux, at 0:32 11. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, at 0:3212. José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne,

British hopes of claiming an historic yellow jersey in the shadow of Big Ben took a nosedive into the river Thames as CSC’s Fabian Cancellara sped to victory in the Tour de France prologue Saturday. England's reigning world and Olympic track pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins, who had been targeting victory on home soil, finished in a disappointing fourth place at 23 seconds behind winner Fabian Cancellara (CSC), who won in 8:50. Wiggins crossed the finish line visibly upset, and later lamented his failure to claim an historic win on the streets he used to ride as a teenager. "I gave it

Weather: Sunny to partly sunny all day, highs low to mid 80s Stage winner: Fabian Cancellara (CSC) takes second prologuewin in four years with a dominant 13-second margin of victory over second-placeAndreas Klöden (Astaná). When he won in 2004 in Liège,Belgium, he became the first rider born in the 1980s to win a Tour stage.He becomes the first rider wearing the world time trial champions jerseyto win the Tour’s opening prologue. His average speed of 53.660kph becomesthe third-fastest prologue in Tour history (Chris Boardman holds the recordwith 55.152kph in 1994 and

American George Hincapie was disappointed after failing to cap some arduous preparation for the Tour de France prologue by pulling on the race's yellow jersey here Saturday. Hincapie finished third at 23 seconds behind Swiss racer Fabian Cancellara (CSC) and 10 seconds behind Germany's Tour de France hopeful Andreas Klöden (Astana), both of whom are famously strong in the race against the clock. That fact can only add some silver lining to Hincapie's performance, but he admitted he had hoped to score an upset against the specialists. "I'm always up there with all of them -

The pre-everything is finally over. As of Friday evening, there had been little biking, a ton of bus riding, two press conferences, health controls, team presentations, sponsors... enough! So today getting ready for the race was a nice change. But before we go into any of these bike related things, I have something much bigger in my life than the Tour de France: I became a father last week. Leah gave birth to Uma last Wednesday night. Both girls are great and I am more than proud of my wife and the fact that I am now a father! So, the last week was a bit crazy at home and not your

Pardon Fabian Cancellara if he looked a little scruffy on the winner’s podium after trading his world champion’s time trial rainbow stripes for the maillot jaune. “I would love to shave but I lost my luggage while flying to London on Wednesday,” Cancellara said, sporting a hint of a mustache and scruff on his chin. “I’m happy to be in the yellow jersey, but I’d love to have my luggage back!” The 26-year-old Swiss time machine has been three days without his razors and just about everything else except his Team CSC kit and his Cervélo time trial bike. That’s all he needed following his

Fabian Cancellara ticked along like a fine Swiss timepiece during the prologue of the 2007 Tour de France in London on Sunday, and our man Casey Gibson was on hand to watch. (Yeah, yeah... We know, it's a horrible gag, we know, but the pictures he sent back more than make up for it.)

There were few teams more emotional - and rightly so - after the Tour de France prologue on Saturday than CSC. Indirectly forced to leave their emblematic manager Bjarne Riis at home because of his recent admission to doping in the 1990s, the determined Danish outfit was given a quick scare when top rider Stuart O'Grady came crashing down during his promising prologue performance. O'Grady got back up and finished on a spare bike, and after some medical care was given the all clear to keep on racing — albeit with a scraped back and a sore thigh muscle, which he should feel for the

The Cervélo’s P3 Carbon just keeps on winning races, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is indeed a fast bike… especially when you put a motor like Fabian Cancellara on top of it. Cancellara also powered the same P3 Carbon to a victory in the world time-trial championship. Indeed, the rest of the team was riding an even newer version of the P3 Carbon emblazoned with the world champion’s rainbow. Funny thing, Cancellera’s was an older bike without the famed arc en ciel, prompting teammate Jens Voigt to ask one obvious question. “Why is it actually that Fabian is the only one

On yet another glorious sun-splashed day in British Columbia, the inaugural BC Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse came to an end Saturday. Once again top stage honors went to the Trek-Volkswagen duo of Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk, who after zipping along at 100kph on a Skyline cable ride, zipped around the singletrack-laden Whistler time trial course in 1:29:51. It was their seventh stage win, giving the pair of American east coasters a clean sweep in this race that started a week ago in Sooke on Vancouver Island, and finished more than 500 kilometers later in the shadows of the spectacular

TourTech: A matter of timing - Those little transponders

Millar’s custom prologue-specific Scott Plasma.

No doubt about who owns this one.

Some Scottish inspiration.

Mechanics made these stops to help Millar keep a good grip during the 7.9km race.

No chances of losing a chain in this prologue.

Rogers’s spare carbon time-trial bike, Giant’s TCR Advanced.

His special prologue bike, still sans shifters and cables at 5 p.m. on Friday.

The non-drive view.

Rogers' name badge is a bit more subtle, notice the seat collar engraving from yesteryear.

Internal cable routing

Selle Italia’s custom TT saddle.

The big Swiss time machine rips it up in London

Klöden was second fastest on the day

Hincapie rounded out the podium in third, but he wasn't happy about it

And the big Swiss time machine dons the first yellow jersey of this year's Tour

Wiggins said he left it all out there on the road

Millar said he was happy with his performance, considering his condition

Zabriskie just missed the top 10, finishing 11th at 9:22

Cancellara said Paris-Roubaix taught him how to handle pressure

Cheerio, I'm off . . .

Johann Bruyneel and Sergio Paulinho just before the start.

Oscar Friere rolls out of start booth.

Riders and crowd in front of Buckingham Palace

Juan Antonio Flecha and the Union Jack.

Discovery's Gusev flies into the best young rider jersey.

One of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards keeps on eye on the proceedings.

The start ramp at Whitehall.

Leipheimer says he's in a three-week bike race.

Thomas Vaitkus is off to a very good start, only two seconds off of Leipheimer's time and seventh in the young rider competition.

Zabriskie flying through the turn in front of Buckingham palace.

Cancellara on a Friday shake-down ride.

The cockpit of Cancellara’s backup bike.

FSA’s new Neo Pro MegaExo time-trial crank.

Selle Italia’s custom time-trial saddle.

Cancellara’s backup bike.

Dave Zabriskie’s P3C carried him to 11th.

COURSE: The prologue starts in theheart of London, goes past Downing Street (residence of Britain’s PrimeMinister), the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey to BuckinghamPalace (residence of Queen Elizabeth II). The course then climbs Constitution Hill, passes through Wellington Arch and loops around The Serpentine, a lake in Hyde Park, before heading back downhill to the Victoria Memorial and to the finish on The Mall, London’s grandest avenue, with Buckingham Palace as the backdrop. HISTORY: This is the first timethat the Tour has started in London, although the race has visited

Enrico Degano – an Italian on the Barloworld wild-card team – will be the first rider out of the gate in Saturday’s prologue start to the 94th Tour de France. Degano will role down the start ramp at 3 p.m. London time in the 7.9km course through the heart of downtown London past such landmarks as Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. The 189-rider start list was released Friday ahead of the traditional prologue, with last year’s runner-up, Oscar Pereiro, starting last at 6:08 p.m. Pereiro snagged the No. 11 start bib after Tour officials decided to not award the traditional No.

Predictor-Lotto’s Cadel Evans and T-Mobile's Michael Rogers are leading a two-pronged Aussie bid for top finishes in the race's general classification, with Evans considered the best bet for success. The soft-spoken former mountain biker last year became Australia's highest-ever overall finisher when he came in fifth overall. Rogers placed a respectable 10th - although both he and Evans could be moved up a notch if American champion Floyd Landis is eventually disqualified for doping following his positive test for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone ratio. In the meantime,

Sympathy is not something Predictor-Lotto’s Robbie McEwen is usually known to offer his rivals. But on Thursday the Australian sprinter admitted he felt sorry for one of his main rivals, Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi. But in almost the same breath McEwen called for glorious sporting achievements at this year’s Tour de France to replace months of lurid headlines about doping in cycling. Petacchi, who faces a one-year ban for an unusually high level of salbutamol during the Giro d'Italia, will not race the Tour this year. He also missed last year’s edition due to a knee

David Millar hopes his tortured past and uncertain present doesn’t spell demise for his immediate future. The Scot is battling ghosts of his doping past and suffering through pangs of doubt over his form at the eve of the most important race of his career. The repentant Saunier Duval-Prodir rider - who served a two-year ban for taking banned performance-enhancing products before returning to competition in 2006 – admitted he’s not at his best ahead of the 7.9km prologue to put the Tour de France into gear Saturday. “I’m riddled with self-doubt. I don’t have the same confidence I normally

Despite rumors that Americans Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong were to attend this weekend’s start of the Tour de France, neither is expected to show up. Landis is in the U.S. on a tour promoting his new book, “Positively False,” and is refusing interview requests from cycling media. He also is awaiting a ruling on charges that he doped en route to winning last year’s Tour. A decision from the three-member arbitration panel is expected in the coming weeks. Discovery Channel officials confirmed that Armstrong will not be in London this weekend.

Spanish riders Oscar Pereiro and Alejandro Valverde outright refused to answer questions about Operación Puerto in face of heated queries from journalists during a tense press conference Friday. Despite a request from team manager Eusebio Unzue that journalists only ask queries about sport, one German journalist directly challenged Valverde to comment on a document from the Puerto files that allegedly made inferences to “Piti,” a code name that some insist could link Valverde to the Spanish doping scandal. When Valverde stoically refused, journalists yelled out, “Answer the question – it’s

The 2007 world road race championships, scheduled for Stuttgart in September, could be called off due to the wave of doping scandals hitting cycling, a German government minister has warned. "The world championships in Stuttgart are in a critical situation and it's not inconceivable that the organizing committee will have to reconsider everything," Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble was quoted as saying in Saturday's edition of Tagesspiegel. "Perhaps we'll have to reach the conclusion that a spectacular cancellation (of the championships) would herald the new start cycling

The Tour de France is ready to roll on Saturday afternoon in London, but on Friday night riders and fans celebrated the coming three-week spectacular with a formal opening ceremony in Trafalgar Square. Our man Casey Gibson was on the scene.

In every stage race there is a day that helps define the event. In the inaugural BC Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse that day came Friday during an arduous 58-kilometer journey from Squamish to Whistler. The sheer amount of climbing — more than 8000 feet — was daunting enough. But when you added in an extensive menu of technical trails and black diamond descents, it was enough to make some of the event’s 160 hardened riders cry — literally. For others it was all smiles and laughter, as riders relished the chance to sample some of the “wicked” trails that have made Whistler a Mecca-like

The tires are glued and bikes are prepped, but at 5 p.m. on the eve of the 2007 Tour de France. Many teams still have plenty to do. Earlier in the day, teams were scrambling because of an 11th-hour “clarification” of an equipment regulation that effected time-trial position. The problem is a poorly written rule that governs hand position when using the aero’ extensions on time-trial bikes. As the rule stood, at Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse, teams were left to interpret what was within the boundaries for positioning when using the aero‘ position that Floyd Landis pioneered last year. At

One of the charming local residences the race will pass by.