Frenchman Christophe Moreau jumped for joy on the top step of the podium as he was awarded the Tour de France yellow jersey for winning the prologue time trial on the Dunkirk seafront today. This victory raised hopes of a first victory for 16 years, as the Festina rider, fourth in the overall standings last year, finished the twisting 8.2km course in nine minutes 20 seconds, edging out Spaniard Igor Gonzalez Galdeano of ONCE by two seconds. Two-time champion Lance Armstrong came in third.
"At last I've got the yellow. I'm feeling total happiness," said 30-year-old Moreau, who will take the yellow jersey into the first stage on Sunday, a 194km journey from Saint Omer to Boulogne-sur-Mer. "This victory will be great for my morale," he added. "I'm now better in the mountains and I'm still a good prologue rider." The last home rider to win the Tour was Bernard Hinault, who completed the last of his five victories in 1985.
"I had good sensations but I'm not speaking about an overall victory. There are still three weeks to go and Armstrong is a very hard rider to beat," he said.
Carlos Sastre, the third ONCE rider to finish in the top ten, set the early pace with a time of 9:34. As the weather deteriorated, with increasing wind and rain, it began to look like the Spaniard's time would not be beaten. Florent Brard, the French Festina rider who set off 83 minutes after Sastre, became the new man to beat following a blistering run of 9:27. Gonzalez Galdeano, winner of the prologue at the 1999 Tour of Spain, bettered that mark with his time of 9:23. Colombian Santiago Botero, last year's King of the Mountains, rode a highly encouraging time of 9:30, which was good enough for tenth place.
In an impressive display of attacking riding, Moreau received deafening cheers as he approached the finish line, before an agonising wait for Beloki, Ullrich and Armstrong who all fell short. "I can't believe it," he said. "It's a dream for me. Superb."
Filed by Greg McKevitt
