CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE : France’s Marie Wins Prologue Again; LeMond Finishes Third

Thierry Marie of France started the Tour de France the way he did last year, by winning Saturday’s prologue.

The 3.31-mile loop around a lake in Parc de la Tete d’Or on the Rhone River was more of an introductory parade of the 198 competitors than a dramatic segment in the three-week, 2,462-mile cycling event. The cyclists departed one at a time, racing against the clock.

Marie will wear the yellow jersey signifying the Tour leader as the first two stages are held today in and around Lyon. He gets the honor for finishing Saturday’s short ride in 6 minutes 11.23 seconds.

Erik Breukink of the Netherlands was in second place, two seconds behind, and Greg LeMond of Wayzata, Minn., was in third, three seconds behind.

Other favorites following the leaders were Claudio Chiappucci of Italy, 22nd; Pedro Delgado of Spain, 34th; Gianni Bugno of Italy, 40th, and Laurent Fignon of France, 64th.

The prologue rarely indicates what will happen over the course of three weeks and 22 stages. By that time, the 22 teams will have faced two individual time trials, four days in the Pyrenees and Alps, and endless hours passing farms and fields in a counter-clockwise route around France.