Graham Watson

Just getting rolling: Rookie David Millar takes the first win of the year

Millar, 23, claimed the 16.5-kilometer (10-mile) time trial in 19 minutes and 3 seconds, an average speed of slightly more than 31 mph.

Armstrong (U.S. Postal Serivce), who won the race's prologue last year, finished second, 2.3 seconds behind Millar, the Cofidis rider who has been compared to a young Greg LeMond. Laurent Jalabert of France (Once) was third, 19 seconds behind.

Millar had to wait for the final 32 riders, including Armstrong, to complete the course before realizing he had earned the race leader's yellow jersey.

Armstrong was declared "Le Boss" on the cover of the French newspaper L'equipe's special race magazine. And it appeared he was en route to successfully defending his opening race win from 1999. Armstrong led the field by four seconds at the 3.7-kilometer split, but slowly began to lose time while Millar waited near the finish. Millar covered his face with his hands and momentarily cried when the results were posted.

"I'm sure if it were a longer and harder time trial, Lance would have won," said Millar. "But it couldn't have been better. A 10-mile time trial is perfect for me. That's all we ride in England."

While the stage provided a surprise finish, so too did pre-race developments. The Tour, which has acquired such nicknames as Le Tour de Dopage and Le Affaire de Dopage in recent years, added another chapter to its tainted reputation. Approximately four hours prior to the first stage, the results of the morning's blood tests for all riders were announced. Three would-be participants failed and were eliminated before they even had a chance to mount their bikes.

Russian Serguei Ivanov (Farm Frites), Rossano Brassi of Italy (Polti) and Andrej Hauptman of Slovania (Vini Caldirola) were the dispatched riders, the result of hematocrit (red blood cells) levels exceeding the maximum 50 percent. They were thus declared "unfit for competition" by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport's governing body. Technically, the dismissal was for health concerns, not doping.

The ruling translated into a two-week suspension for the cyclists. But for the purposes of the Tour, the result was two-fold. The starting field was reduced to 177 and the Polti team, which includes climbing specialist and overall title contender Richard Virenque of France, now has one less support rider.

"It's good for the sport that there's tough testing," said Mark Gorski, the USPS general manager. "But even with all that's gone on (in cycling) and all the warnings, I think it's extremely disappointing that you still have people who choose to break the rules. I don't want to speculate what they might be doing, but if you look at the three teams involved, it's three teams that have a history of those kinds of problems . . . When I heard who it was, I just kind of shook my head and said to myself, 'same cast of characters.'"

The USPS team, meanwhile, also had to make a last-minute adjustment. Christian Vande Velde, who last year surprisingly led the young-rider competition for several days, was bitten by a spider during a training ride on Monday. By Wednesday, the bite had become infected and Vande Velde was placed on antibiotics. Team management decided the Illinois native who lives in Boulder, Colo., would be replaced by Stephen Kjaergaard of Norway.

The 21-stage race continues Sunday with the flat 194-kilometer (117-mile) Futuroscope to Loudun road race.