Tour de France: Armstrong fourth in prologue

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland won the prologue of the Tour de France on Saturday, with seven-time winner Lance Armstrong finishing an impressive fourth to start what he's calling his last ride in cycling's main event.

Cancellara, who won the prologue of the Tour of Switzerland last month, clocked 10 minutes for the individual time trial along 8.9 kilometers (5.5 miles) of rain-dampened roads in Rotterdam.

"That was a great opening for me and the team," Cancellara said, referring to his Danish squad Saxo Bank. "It's an amazing day. I'm really happy."

Germany's Tony Martin, who had led for most of the day, was second, 10 seconds back, and David Millar of Britain placed third - 20 seconds off the pace.

Armstrong trailed 22 seconds back in fourth. Perhaps most impressively, the American edged out rival Alberto Contador - the defending Tour champion and top pre-race favorite - by 5 seconds.

Riders set off one by one down the starter's ramp for the race against the clock. Contador went last - right before Cancellara and Armstrong.

They took a looping course over and back across the Meuse River that cuts through Europe's largest port town, scaling three bridges including the distinctive Erasmus suspension bridge.

Fairly persistent rain left the roads shiny-wet, and bikes sizzled and spit as they cut through the water. Large crowds braved the wet weather under colorful ponchos along the route.

Martin had come saying a prologue victory was a "big goal" - and that his strategy had been to push hard from the start if rain were going to douse the roads.

Some potential Tour title contenders were already facing disappointment: Britain's Bradley Wiggins, an Olympic gold medalist and strong time-trial rider who was fourth in last year's Tour, was 77th overall - 56 seconds behind Cancellara.

Armstrong came into the time trial predicting he wouldn't win it, saying that he's "lost it" in the discipline - one that he had dominated in his record run of Tour titles from 1999 to 2005.

But in his strong performance on Saturday, Armstrong actually appeared to slow down at one point to take a tight turn gingerly - a sign that above all he wanted to avoid a crash that could damage or derail his hopes for an eighth Tour victory.

The only other time trial this year is a 52-kilometer jaunt across southwestern France in Stage 19 - on the eve of the finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

But the layout also features a total of 23 mountain passes in the Alps and Pyrenees, which could play into the hands of Contador, who is considered the best climber.

Cancellara will don the race leader's yellow jersey for Sunday's 223.5-kilometer first stage across wind-swept lowlands from Rotterdam to Brussels.

The three-week race ends on July 25 in Paris.

-AP