Prologue - July 7: Dunkerque, ITT, 8.2 km

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Verbrugghe hungry for Maillot Jaune

By Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent

Today's Tour De France 2001 prologue covers 8.2 km of totally flat road winding around the port and back along to finish on the beachfront promenade of Dunkirk, le Digue de Mer. Coastside, Dunkirk seems like a low-rent version of Ocean City, Maryland, but with the addition of moules and pomme frites. Dunkirk is a grimy working class city of container ports and smelters, known primarily for the stealthy evacuation of routed British troops in 1940.

With uncertain weather blowing in from the English Channel, predicting a winner in today's prologue is difficult. Tour favorite Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton and Viatcheslav Ekimov (USPS) all have an excellent chance at the Maillot Jaune, as do last year's winner David Millar and Nico Mattan (Cofidis), emerging young Australian Brad McGee (LFDJ), French stalwart Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali), powerful Christophe Moreau (Festina), prologue specialist Toni Tauler (Kelme-Costa Blanca). Jan Ullrich ( Deutsche Telekom ) will certainly be looking to prove his fitness to himself and the other in today's prologue.

But watch out for bad ass Belgian Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto-Adecco); his record speed win in the Giro prologue six weeks ago has brought his game up a notch. Motivated like never before to ride home to Belgium clad in the Maillot Jaune, powerhouse Verbrugghe looks likely to become the first leader of the 2001 Tour De France.

Important Start Times (CEST)

1600: Sébastien Talabardon (Fra)
1601: Servais Knaven (Ned)
1610: Thor Hushovd (Nor)
1612: Bart Leysen (Bel)
1614: Paul Van Hyfte (Bel)
1619: Andreas Klöden (Ger)
1620: Christian Vandevelde (USA)
1635: Serge Baguet (Bel)
1636: Erik Dekker (Ned)
1640: Erik Zabel (Ger)
1641: Tyler Hamilton (USA)
1645: Johan Verstrepen (Bel)
1656: Stive Vermaut (Bel)
1657: Michaël Boogerd (Ned)
1704: Piotr Wadecki (Pol)
1711: Sébastien Demarbaix (Bel)
1715: Stefano Zanini (Ita)
1716: Andrei Kivilev (Kaz)
1717: Rik Verbrugghe (Bel)
1722: Jens Heppner (Ger)
1725: Fred Rodriguez (USA)
1734: Bobby Julich (USA)
1735: Denis Menchov (Rus)
1736: Paolo Bettini (Ita)
1737: Nico Mattan (Bel)
1738: Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned)
1740: Serguei Ivanov (Rus)
1744: Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus)
1746: Max van Heeswijk (Ned)
1748: Raivis Belohvoscics (Lat)
1753: Ludovic Capelle (Bel)
1757: Tom Steels (Bel)
1759: Fabien De Waele (Bel)
1800: Geert Verheyen (Bel)
1801: Wladimir Belli (Ita)
1804: Udo Bölts (Ger)
1807: Axel Merckx (Bel)
1808: Sven Montgomery (Swi)
1816: Jens Voigt (Ger)
1818: Stefano Garzelli (Ita)
1820: Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus)
1826: George Hincapie (USA)
1828: Johan Museeuw (Bel)
1839: Michele Bartoli (Ita)
1841: Mario Aerts (Bel)
1843: Ivan Basso (Ita)
1846: Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz)
1847: Roberto Heras (Spa)
1849: Romans Vainsteins (Lat)
1850: Bradley McGee (Aus)
1851: Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel)
1852: Didier Rous (Fra)
1853: Santiago Botero (Spa)
1854: Laurent Brochard (Fra)
1855: Laurent Jalabert (Fra)
1856: Jaan Kirsipuu (Est)
1857: Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)
1858: Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
1859: Francisco Mancebo (Spa)
1900: Daniele Nardello (Ita)
1901: David Millar (GBr)
1902: Kurt Van de Wouwer (Bel)
1903: Marc Wauters (Bel)
1904: Francesco Casagrande (Ita)
1905: Christophe Moreau (Fra)
1906: Joseba Beloki (Spa)
1907: Jan Ullrich (Ger)
1908: Lance Armstrong (USA)

Course profile

Course description

Dunkerque

Start time: 1606 CEST
Estimated finish time: 1920 CEST

Le Tour 2001 makes its start in the northern seaside town of Dunkirk this year with an 8.2 kilometre flat prologue time trial. The course is designed for speed, and we will see several of the top GC contenders doing well here, Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Joseba Beloki, Christophe Moreau and Abraham Olano. In addition, those riders with excellent time trialling skills but less ambitions for the overall will be doing their utmost to gain the first yellow jersey. Rik Verbrugghe, Brad McGee, Didier Rous, Viatcheslav Ekimov, Tyler Hamilton and David Millar should also shine.

Dunkirk is a leading French port situated on the North Sea. It is a steel center; but oil refining, shipbuilding, food processing, and the manufacture of electrical equipment are also important industries.

It was founded around the 7th century A.D. and often fortified, due to its strategic position. It was successively ruled by Flanders, Burgundy, Austria, France, England, and Spain, before returning to English hands in 1662. During World War II (1940), more than 300,000 Allied troops who were cut off from retreat on land by the German breakthrough to the French Channel ports were evacuated from Dunkirk.

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