I didn't really know that much about the prologue, since it hasn't been a part of the last couple tours. When wikipedia failed me, I turned to that great wealth of information for the uninformed, the ""Whatever" for Dummies" series.
"As a ceremonial prerace, Prologues provide a quick, exciting Tour start. Individual time trials less than 8 kilometers (5 miles) in length, Prologues comprise a few minutes of individual, high-speed pedaling for every cyclist in the field. the race's winner wears the leader's yellow jersey for the first official stage held the following day... Prologues also provide the first look at the condition of lack of condition of overall title favorites..."
So that explains a bit about the prologue. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if the times from the prologue carry over, or if its just a psychological thing of coming out strong the first day and showing the competition what you brought to the party.
As for what was brought to the party this year... my Tour for Dummies book published in 2005 makes note of the fact that in 2004 "young Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara surprised the favorites, including Lance Armstrong...Cancellara claimed the Prologue in 6 minutes and 51 seconds- an average speed of 32.22 mph." This year Cancellara (Team Saxo Bank) tore it up once again, completing an 8.9 kilometer course through Rotterdam on wet streets in 10 minutes even, beating out poor Tony Martin by 10 seconds. There is a good chance he will hold on to the Maillot Jaune for the next couple days, particularly since he is the current champ on Pave (cobblestones) which will feature heavily in stage 3.
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