Cancellara leads, Armstrong in fourth as Tour de France 1st stage begins

Tour de France 1st stage under way

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara is wearing the leader’s yellow jersey as Tour de France riders set off for the first stage through Belgian and Dutch lowlands.

Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong is the top-placed rider among expected title contenders in the 196-man peloton now zooming along the 138-mile ride from Rotterdam to Brussels, Belgium.

The race Sunday is expected to favor sprinters or breakaway riders.

Cancellara won the prologue time trial Saturday, with Armstrong 22 seconds behind in fourth place and 2009 winner Alberto Contador in sixth, 27 seconds back.

Manuel Cardoso of Portugal and Swiss rider Mathias Frank didn’t start after being injured in crashes a day earlier on the rain-soaked streets of Rotterdam.

The three-week Tour ends July 25 in Paris.