Five and a half kilometres completed - 3,849 more to go. Just as the hype was threatening to mortally wound Le Tour before a gear was cranked, the lid was finally unscrewed and some of Le Fizz was let out into the Dublin streets.

Like the alien craft that cast long shadows over the New York skyline in the film Independence Day so the biking behemoth arrived knocking out the entire city centre before promoting time trial specialist Chris Boardman into its pantheon of first-day heroes. The rain held, the public turned out and Boardman took the limelight.

"Today I decided before the start that the corners were going to be dry," he said. "Luckily when I got there they were. It's important because you have to decide your speed and trajectory before you get there and I had to take that chance.

"I had decided how I was going to tackle everything and I was well focused. I was taught years ago by a man who taught me mental training. Today that served me well around Dublin. I can remember all of the prologue courses that I've ever ridden but I can't remember my children's birthdays without great effort - pretty sad really," added the Liverpudlian.

Boardman came into the Tour with form and a private life that had been swinging like a sprinter's elbows at a stage finish. But on Saturday he found sanctuary in the newly established equilibrium.

"I want to dedicate this win to my wife. Without her I wouldn't be here and I want to thank her. Yes. I've had personal problems. No, I'm not prepared to discuss them." he said pointedly. "The last fortnight hasn't been great for me and my performances have been up and down.

"This is the hardest I've had to work for it (a win). You've got to remember that this is the Tour de France and realise how big it is now. This is practically the world prologue championships."

Despite the pre-race grumblings over road closures the waspish helmets, futuristic machines and vacuum-packed bodies sparkled in the day's dullness. The students, who packed the route along the finish, provided much of the carnival atmosphere and, god bless `em, were the only ones who really recognised most of the names of the riders.

But Boardman was impressed: "The people here are enthusiastic about sport. They're not afraid to show their emotions and get into the atmosphere, especially in that last 150 metres. This route was pretty similar to the one in Lille - big, big roads and sweeping bends."

The Englishman left with a smile then, his body wrapped in the yellow jersey that Jan Ullrich, as last year's winner, had worn for only six minutes and 19 seconds.

Belgian Tom Steels was equally enjoying what was a return to favour when he broke from the slipstream of Erik Zabel to claim the first Dublin-Wicklow-Dublin stage after a sprint finish. Having earned the distinction last year of being the only rider in modern times to be disqualified from the Tour when, in a fit of pique, he threw his feeding bottle at Frenchman Frederick Moncassin, Steels claims now to have erased the memory.

"I just want to answer last year's disqualification with a victory not with words. A victory during the Tour is very important, not only for me but also for the team because it can take away the pressure. I am always bad in prologues because I always have problems during the first stage of big races. I've never done a good prologue and if it was better I could have been wearing the yellow jersey.

"Today I felt secure because I had a good team and I have learned from the disqualification of last year. Last year I got a bit carried away, that's why I blew a fuse. Tour sprints are always difficult because the best sprinters are here, and others try their luck making it dangerous."

Steels won the podium victory in the absence of Mario Cipollini, who was taken out of the race in the Phoenix Park when one of his team-mates fell and unavoidably brought him down along with three other riders. As a result, the big Italian was absent from the sprint he was expected to dominate.

"Someone next to me fell, and there was nothing I could do," said Cipollini, who was within 13 seconds of Boardman overnight.

"I was working for my first yellow jersey, but a rider's feet slipped from his pedals, and that put me off balance just as the sprint began," he added.

At that point the race opened up as the riders knuckled down into a head wind. "On the last leg I could not go out and lead the group. I stayed behind Zabel because I thought he could win, being the most dangerous rider. Then 100 metres before the finish line he went out and he could have won.

"I saw that there was a crash behind me but I did not know that it was Mario Cipollini. But of course, when you are there you have to live the situation and as Cipollini was not there I could not follow his wheels so I chose those of Zabel.

"I think that I am ready for this Tour de France because I didn't race for five weeks and then after a race in Catalonia I knew that I was ready. Then when I raced in the Belgian Championship last Sunday and won it, I was sure that I was in good shape."