Engoulvent speeds to prologue win

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Jimmy Engoulvent of Team Saur SojaSun won the prologue of the Tour of Luxembourg, covering the 2.6km city course in 3:41. Second place went to his teammate Cyril Lemoine, 8.1 seconds back, with Team RadioShack's Gregory Rast third at 8.2 seconds.

It was a big evening for both the French Continental team and RadioShack, as the two teams claimed the top six places. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was just off the podium in fifth place, 9.1 seconds down.

It was Engoulvent's second success here. He also won the Luxembourg prologue in 2007.

The 124 riders from 16 teams faced dry weather as they took to the 2.659 kilometre course in the capital city. Cyril Bessy of Saur SojaSun was the first to go out and put in a time of 4:02. Shortly thereafter his teammate Jimmy Engoulvent tore around the course in 3:41.

Some of the big names in the field didn't give their all on the short city course. Patrik Sinkewitz, making his season debut with the Professional Continental Team ISD-Neri, finished with a time of 3:57, and Katusha's Serguei Ivanov put a in a time of 3:56.

RadioShack's Andreas Klöden, for many a favourite for the overall win, was also slower than the Frenchman at 3:54. Fan favourite Jens Voigt of Saxo Bank was way down at 4:03, as was local hero Kim Kirchen. Another top favourite for the title, and another local hero, Fränk Schleck, finished under four minutes, at 3:58, a good time for him.

Lance Armstrong had also been picked by many to win the evening's race, but he finished fifth, just 9.1 seconds behind the winner. Earlier, Armstrong had said how much he was looking forward to the race, which he won in 1998. On his Twitter account he wrote that it great to be there and he was "psyched to race!" He wasn't so happy this morning, however, over an unannounced doping test. "Knock, knock. UCI anti-doping control. I will be found positive for one helluva deep sleep last night."

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