Fabian Cancellara

The first few miles of the Tour de France were dicey enough, requiring tight turns on narrow city streets. Then came wind gusts strong enough to alter a rider's trajectory, plus the occasional sprinkle to make the road surface slick. It was a day for gamblers who know what they're doing, and one of the great risk-takers in all of sports played a better hand than almost anyone. Lance Armstrong opened his bid for a record sixth Tour de France victory with a second-place finish in Saturday's 3.

This year more than ever, the first part of the Tour de France belongs to the sprinters. With the exception of Wednesday's team time trial, this week's finishes are built for the specialists who use their fast-twitch muscles and considerable nerve to go into handlebar-to-handlebar combat at the end of a flat stage. And there are fewer chances than in previous years for them to win toward the race's end. Davis Phinney, the sprinter and first U.S.

Riding with an easy smoothness, his hips nearly motionless, his body tucked into a neat arrow position, two-time defending world time-trial winner Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland won the opening prologue of the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday afternoon in Palo Alto. Cancellara rides for CSC, a Danish team owned by an El Segundo company.

Even before Juan Jose Haedo sped across the finish line, his CSC teammate Fabian Cancellara raised his fists, celebrating a second straight win for the squad at the Amgen Tour of California. Haedo, a 26-year-old sprint specialist from Argentina, won his first race for CSC and his fifth stage at the 3-year-old Tour of California on Monday when he shot past former world champions Tom Boonen and Paoli Bettini. Haedo finished the 97-mile course from Sausalito to Santa Rosa in 4 hours 3 minutes 8.

Levi Leipheimer will take the yellow jersey into today's final race of cycling's Amgen Tour of California after a wild sixth stage Saturday that ended with Brazil's Luciano Pagliarini claiming victory although Britain's Mark Cavendish crossed the finish line first. "It's not like a win with hands up," said Pagliarini, who was awarded the win about half an hour after the race. "I was second but I am the first. I am so sorry about Cavendish. But for me, I'm real happy."

The remainder of Roger Clemens' defamation suit against Brian McNamee in Texas has been dismissed in Houston, leaving the pair to fight their legal battle in New York. U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison , who threw out most of Clemens' case in February, dismissed the remainder of the suit on Aug. 28. Clemens initially had sued his former personal trainer in Texas state court in January 2008, a month after McNamee's accusations against the seven-time Cy Young Award winner were published in the Mitchell Report.

Michael Ball, the owner of cycling team Rock Racing, decided not to register Tyler Hamilton, Santiago Botero and Oscar Sevilla in the Amgen Tour of California, which begins today in Palo Alto. Ball had hinted Saturday morning that he would either compete with the eight-man team of his choosing or not race at all after the three riders were not approved for entry. All three have been linked to a Spanish doping investigation.

Alberto Contador of Spain all but won his third Tour de France when he extended his lead over Andy Schleck to 39 seconds following the 52-kilometer individual penultimate stage time trial on Saturday. Contador held an eight-second advantage over his rival going into the timed stage and a strong finish over the final third of the course put the title in his grasp despite a valiant effort from Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, who is now set to finish runner-up for the second consecutive year.

Lance Armstrong dropped one spot to third place in the Tour de France on Friday, with rival and teammate Alberto Contador breaking away in the final sprint up the mountain to claim second. Italy's Rinaldo Nocentini captured the yellow jersey from Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara after a punishing climb in the Pyrenees to complete the seventh stage. It was the first time the overall lead changed hands since Cancellara won the opening-day time trial in Monaco.

While the pre-race focus at the Amgen Tour of California has been on Lance Armstrong and his comeback, Armstrong is an unlikely overall winner. Veteran cycling commentator Phil Liggett considers the field to be the strongest in the U.S. outside of a world championship. Staff writer Diane Pucin looks at some riders worth watching. -- Overall Levi Leipheimer, Astana -- Two-time defending champion, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist and four-time top-10 finisher at Tour de France.