Armstrong finishes seventh in prologue

PARIS -- The cobblestones of Paris were a burden for Lance Armstrong. The mountains that await may prove more to his liking.

Against the majestic backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, Armstrong began his bid for a record-tying fifth straight Tour de France victory by finishing seventh in Saturday's prologue time trial.

The Texan was seven seconds behind winner Bradley McGee in the 4.03-mile individual race against the clock through tree-lined boulevards and past thousands of cheering fans.

"I didn't feel great," Armstrong said. "I started slow. It wasn't very comfortable, and I was struggling with the pounding of the cobblestones. But the race will change."

He then got in a car as a half-dozen riot police surrounded him to hold back spectators.

Armstrong, who came back from cancer to win the first of his Tour de France victories in 1999, is trying to become only the second man to capture five consecutive Tours.

He still has thousands of miles left in the punishing three-week race in which to stamp his authority.

McGee, an Olympic bronze medalist from Australia, finished the last few hundred yards with a tire puncture and was a fraction of a second faster than David Millar of Britain.

Spain's Haimar Zubeldia was third, two seconds off McGee's pace. Armstrong, who won the 2002 prologue, raced last because he is the defending champion.

"It's like being in another world. It feels great," said McGee, wearing the yellow jersey awarded to the overall Tour leader. "The dream of dreams is to hold on to the jersey as long as possible."

Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner and a threat to Armstrong, was fourth, two seconds back. He is regaining his form after missing more than a year because of injuries and drug ban.

Another potential rival, U.S. rider Tyler Hamilton, finished sixth, one spot and one second ahead of Armstrong. Hamilton is a former teammate of Armstrong's who now rides for the Danish CSC team.

Other challengers -- Joseba Beloki of Spain and Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni of Italy -- were eighth and 21st.

The 23-day, 2,125-mile trek around France has 20 stages left, including grueling mountain climbs where Armstrong has previously left rivals in his wake.

This was the first time in 40 years the Tour has begun in Paris. The overall winner in 1963 was Frenchman Jacques Anquetil, the first to win five Tours. If Armstrong wins, he will join Spain's Miguel Indurain as the only rider to take five Tours in a row.

Saturday's route crossed the Seine, wound its way up a hill to the Place du Trocadero and then snaked through crowd-lined streets. Riders zipped past Place de la Concorde, where King Louis XVI was guillotined in 1793 during the French Revolution, before recrossing the Seine.

Then they cycled past the parliament building and finished at the foot of the Champ de Mars, a park in the Eiffel Tower's shadow. The riders' wheels rattled and jumped on the cobblestones.

McGee completed the course in 7 minutes, 26.16 seconds.