Julich takes Paris-Nice prologue

CNN.com | Julich starts defense with victory

AP Photo/Jacques Brinon

Bobby Julich kicked off the ProTour calendar with a victory, taking the prologue at Paris-Nice on Sunday. Julich won the overall there in 2005, but says that's not a goal for him this year. Julich slipped ahead of Andrey Kashechkin of Liberty Seguros by 1 second, with FDJeux's Brad McGee at 2 seconds. The course is supposed to be very tactical this year, so look out for world champion Tom Boonen, who came 5th in the prologue, only 3 seconds back.

Julich said he's not defending his title:

"I didn't make Paris-Nice one of my objectives this year but in the warm-up of the prologue I felt good and realized I had a chance of doing something," he said. "At 34 you can't go chasing every race. This year I've agreed with team manager Bjarne Riis that my priorities will be the Giro d'Italia and supporting Ivan Basso at the Tour de France."

It's also CSC's first victory of the season.

Top 5:

1) Bobby Julich, CSC, 6:07
2) Andrey Kashechkin, Liberty Seguros, at :01
3) Bradley McGee, FDJeux, at :02
4) Alberto Contador, Liberty Seguros, at :03
5) Tom Boonen, Quick Step, at :03

Also:

Eurosport | Julich signals intent with prologue win

VeloNews | Julich takes Paris-Nice prologue

cyclingnews.com | Paris-Nice: Prologue

Photos:

cyclingnews.com | Paris-Nice prologue photo gallery

GrahamWatson.com | Paris-Nice prologue