LIEGE, Belgium – Fabian Cancellara gave some joy to his troubled RadioShack Nissan team as the 99th Tour de France began Saturday, winning his fifth opening-day prologue at cycling's premier race in the same Belgian city where he edged Lance Armstrong eight years ago.

The 31-year-old Swiss rider proved he's dominant in time trials over the four-mile race against the clock in Liege. This time, Cancellara outclassed another Tour title favorite. Bradley Wiggins, aiming to become the first Briton to win the Tour, was seven seconds behind in second.

Cadel Evans embarked on his title defense in solid form, finishing 13th – but importantly, 10 seconds behind Wiggins, whom many see as the main threat to the Australian's hopes of a repeat. Cancellara is unquestionably the world's best time-trial rider but isn't considered a Tour contender because he often struggles in the mountains.

"What a great opening – again!" Cancellara said. "I did the most I could. It's not always easy. I always do the maximum … It's a great feeling, and this certainly takes some of the pressure off."

The Tour start offered a welcome return to racing – three weeks and 2,168 miles criss-crossing France, nosing into Switzerland, and scaling climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees before the July 22 finish on Paris' Champs-Elysees. Two other individual time trials await.

RadioShack, built on the remains of teams that Armstrong led to a record seven Tour victories, has faced a rough patch.

Its current leader, Andy Schleck, is staying home to nurse a spinal injury he sustained in a crash in the Criterium du Dauphine this month. Team manager Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's longtime mentor, is staying away to avoid being a distraction to the team and the race over a U.S. anti-doping case targeting him, Armstrong and four others.

In a further embarrassment, Enrico Carpani, a spokesman for cycling governing body UCI, said it received information from several RadioShack riders that they had faced delays in receiving some salary payments.

Team spokesman Philippe Maertens said he believed they had been paid, "and if not, there is a reason for it." He called it a "private issue."

Brushing aside the team's issues, Cancellara said he was focusing "on what I have to do – and that's riding my bike." He said the win, which he dedicated to his pregnant wife, was doubly rewarding because he broke his collarbone in the Tour of Flanders in April and wasn't sure he'd be at his best for the Tour prologue.

Cancellara has now earned the leader's yellow jersey for 22 days in his career to equal the marks of other Tour greats, including two-time winner Laurent Fignon of France, American triple champion Greg LeMond and Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk.

All of Cancellara's prologue victories have been outside France: He beat Armstrong by two seconds in Liege in 2004 and also won in London in 2007, Monaco in 2009 and Rotterdam in 2010.

Wiggins, a three-time Olympic champion, said he believed going into the prologue that "there was a man who could beat me: There is always Fabian, he is the best in the world when it comes to time trials."

"I finished second, so that's a good thing," added Wiggins. "Physically I felt fantastic. I didn't take any major risks because there were a lot of tricky sections."

Evans, too, said he had expected to be outclassed in the prologue. He put his ride into a broader perspective.

"Not good, but not bad," the Australian said. "Of course, I'd rather concede less seconds – you never want to lose time. … For me, the real racing starts (today)."

His American team, BMC, had some bright spots.

In addition to Evans' solid performance, Tejay van Garderen, a 23-year-old American, placed fourth – 10 seconds behind Cancellara – and earned the white jersey for the best young Tour rider.

Near the other end of the cycling career lifespan, 39-year-old compatriot George Hincapie began his 17th Tour, setting a record. He placed 22nd.

Today's first stage takes riders over a mostly flat, 123-mile loop from Liege to the nearby town of Seraing.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

• Read more articles by Jamey Keaten

Order Reprint