Cancellara dominates, Contador answers Astana questions

The time trial is often called “the race of truth” and today under the hot Monaco sun, more than a few truths were revealed. Among them? Fabian Cancellara (Saxo-Bank) is still a master of the time trial and Alberto Contador looks to be the undisputed leader on Team Astana.

Starting 4th from last, Cancellara delivered an incredible ride to win in commanding fashion, 18 seconds ahead second-place Alberto Contador.

A two-time World Time Trial Champion and the current Olympic gold medalist in the discipline, 28-year-old Cancellara was a heavy favorite to win today’s stage. The victory marks the third Tour de France prologue win of his career and puts him into the yellow race leader’s jersey heading into Stage 2.

The 15.5 kilometer time trial in Monaco took riders high above the Mediterranean coast into the hills behind Monte Carlo, down a technical descent back into the city, and along a few flat kilometers along the waterfront.

Cancellara leveraged his heavier build and huge power to nail the final descent and seal up the victory.

Explosive rides by Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream), Andreas Kloden (Astana), And Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) filled in the positions behind Cancellara and Contador, with Leipheimer hanging on for 6th.

The challenging course created significant time gaps among the top ten (Armstrong is sitting in 10th position, 40 seconds off the lead pace) and saw many riders losing as much as 2 or 3 minutes. But with 20 stages left to ride, there’s plenty of time to make up those deficits in the mountains.

Columbia-HTC’s Tony Martin cracks the top ten

Tony Martin turned in a scorching performance early in the day and hung on to finish in 8th place against the likes of time-trial greats Fabian Cancellara, David Zabriskie and Cadel Evans (not to mention heavy-hitting GC contenders like Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong).

The performance puts Martin in the top ten overall heading into tomorrow’s road stage and bodes well for Team-Columbia HTC as the tour kicks off.

Stage Two promises a sprinter’s showdown

The big sprinters rode today’s time-trial conservatively in order to save legs for tomorrow’s road stage. The 187 kilometer journey from Monaco to Brignoles takes the race along the Riviera Coast before heading inland for the finish.  A few minor climbs and a chance of gusting wind could make things interesting, but the pack should be together at the end of the day, allowing the sprinters to have it out.

This will be the first opportunity for Mark Cavendish and the rest of the Highroad-HTC squad to lay down the heat and nab an early stage victory. Look for them to take control at the front of the race in the final 10 kilometers to put Cavendish in a strong position to contest the win.

Top Ten Individual Standings for Stage 1
1.      CANCELLARA Fabian      TEAM SAXO BANK          19' 32"       
2.     CONTADOR Alberto         ASTANA             + 00' 18"
3.     WIGGINS Bradley         GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM     + 00' 19"
4.     KLÖDEN Andréas         ASTANA             + 00' 22"
5.     EVANS Cadel         SILENCE - LOTTO         + 00' 23"
6.     LEIPHEIMER Levi         ASTANA             + 00' 30"
7.     KREUZIGER Roman        LIQUIGAS             + 00' 32"
8.     MARTIN Tony         TEAM COLUMBIA - HTC     + 00' 33"
9.     NIBALI Vincenzo         LIQUIGAS             + 00' 37"
10.     ARMSTRONG Lance         ASTANA             + 00' 40"

Columbia-HTC Individual Standings after Stage 1
8.    MARTIN Tony                       
24      MAXIME Monfort           
27.      ROGERS Michael           
34.      HINCAPIE George           
98.      GRABSCH Bert
103.      EISEL Bernhard   
109.      KIRCHEN Kim
140.      RENSHAW Mark
177.      CAVENDISH Mark

Team Standings
1.      ASTANA              59' 46"       
2.     TEAM SAXO BANK         + 00' 31"
3.     GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM     + 00' 44"
4.     LIQUIGAS              + 01' 25"
5.     TEAM COLUMBIA - HTC     + 01' 46"