If neither Bradley Wiggins, nor David Millar could conjure up a winning ride in the prologue this afternoon, it didn't really matter, because the grandeur of the Tour de France took centre stage in London and was embraced by a hugely enthusiastic British public.

Transport for London sources estimated that over a million spectators had flocked to the roadside.

Despite all the pre-race misgivings, the Tour, even in a century of history, has rarely been made so welcome.

That said, Millar's anonymous ride was a disappointment, but Wiggins acquitted himself better, to finish fourth. Nobody however was able to match the blistering pace of Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, the only rider to smash nine minutes for the 7.9 kilometre course. His average speed, 53.7 kilometres per hour, was over two kilometres an hour faster than Wiggins.

Cancellara will not win the Tour de France and to an extent, his work is already done. He will savour his moment, probably carrying the yellow jersey from England to France, and, so great was his margin of victory over the sprinters in the peloton, even perhaps to the foot of the Alps.

But the stage is set. The opening salvoes have been fired and, as predicted the winner of this year's Tour de France is likely to come from a group of half a dozen riders, including the two Astana riders Andreas Kloden, and Alexandre Vinokourov. For the moment, the Kazakh team is in pole position, with Levi Leipheimer's Discovery Channel team also looking strong, but there are still over three thousand kilometres to race, and as French sports paper L'Equipe said this morning, anything can happen.