Tour De France Starts in Belgium The 99th edition of the Tour de France has started with Tom Veelers of the Netherlands rolling off the starter's ramp first in the 4-mile opening time trial. Defending champion Cadel Evans of Australia will be the last to start on the route through the streets of Liege, Belgium. Four-time time trial world champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland goes off before Evans with the aim of repeating his 2004 triumph, when he won the prologue on a similar course in the same city. He has since won every Tour opening time trial on foreign soil, a run that includes wins in London (2007), Monaco (2009) and Rotterdam (2010). Evans' main challenger this year, Bradley Wiggins, is among the contenders for the stage win.