Fabian Cancellara proved once again that he is the fastest prologue rider in the peloton. The Swiss rider took the Tour de Suisse's opening day 7.3km ride in 9'41, a comfortable nine seconds clear off second-placed Tejay van Garderen. Peter Sagan ended the tough day in third place, eight seconds behind Van Garderen.
The winner was quite happy with his fifth Tour de Suisse prologue victory, despite being a bit nervous. Everybody expected him to take first in Lugano. "It was great to win here in Tessin," he said on Swiss television after the race. "The spectators were great along the course." It became audibly louder everywhere Cancellara rode past. He can relax for the remainder of the tour. "The goal is reached. I finished my first assignment perfectly."
The course was hard and the highest point at 391 meters came halfway through the course. Cancellara's assessment was quite simple. "It is tough for everyone," he said.
He showed that even a difficult climb in a short prologue cannot stop him.
Defending champion Fränk Schleck started last, being one of the few riders who had rain throughout his ride. His brother Andy suffered from a problem with his gearing system, having to get off the bike on the climb.
Warm and sunny weather greeted the riders in the prologue in Lugano. Alexander Gottfried (Team NetApp) was the first rider off, clocking in at 11:01. Assan Bazayev put in a good ride (10'17), but it was Chris Froome who almost came in under ten minutes (10'05). Swedish rider Gustav Erik Larsson managed to do that, with a 9'58.
Andreas Klöden then had the best intermediate time (5'11), but lost a little bit in the second half of the course. He ended one second behind Larsson. Tejay van Garderen conserved his energy better. He was four seconds slower than Klöden in the intermediate timing, but nine seconds faster at the finish. His 9'50 was the first place for now, netting him an eventual second place.
Tom Danielson clocked a 10'01, a very good time for the American. Andy Schleck was less lucky, having problems with his gears. He had to step off on the climb and lost probably half a minute. That puts his 10'59 in perspective.
Cancellara started shortly after six pm local time and it was almost disastrous. Out of the saddle to get his speed up, his gear slipped. But he caught himself well and continued his effort under the enormous applause from the local fans.
Cancellara's intermediate time was two seconds slower than the time of Klöden. The descent was not too technical, but the roads were quite narrow. There was also one tight hairpin turn to require the rider's concentration. Cancellara did well on that second part, blasting away Van Garderen's time. He almost caught his one-minute man, Michael Albasini, on the short route.
Peter Sagan was the fourth rider under ten minutes, with a 9'58. He placed ahead of Larsson in third place.
It had started to rain, affecting the performances of the last few riders. Damiano Cunego (10'09), Levi Leipheimer (10'03) and Peter Velits (10'02) produced good prologue results to keep any overall chances alive.