Nervous Armstrong fails to turn the clock back

MONACO (Reuters) - It was almost like the good old days for former champion Lance Armstrong on the docks of Monaco's old port for the Tour de France opener on Saturday -- yet not quite.

There was the same media scrum, same attention, same screams and shouts when the American started the 15.5-km time trial at 1617 local time (10:17 a.m. EDT) for his first Tour ride since his last victory in 2005.

But Armstrong's legs could obviously tell the difference and with a time of 20 minutes 12 seconds, he was unable to recover the yellow jersey that had become his summer uniform for a record seven years between 1999 and 2005.

"I was a bit nervous but it is logical. I'm just happy to be here even if we don't win today because there are a lot of other things I could be doing right now," the 37-year-old told a pack of journalists outside his Astana team bus.

The media had flocked around it for hours before the start, watching his every move, from his 20-minute warm-up in his yellow Livestrong outfit to his ride to the starting ramp under bodyguard escort.

There were no boos or jeers from the crowd as in the past, when sections of the French public would loudly express their dislike for the cancer survivor.

"It was not the French public, but the Monegasque public," joked Armstrong, who returned to the sport in January after 3 1/2 years of retirement.

"Yet there were Lance signs on the roads and lots of cheers. It was like a home race," he added.

DIFFERENT SCRIPT

The support was not enough for Armstrong to turn back the clock and although he crossed the line with the fastest time of the day so far, it was obvious his first place would not hold.

"In 2005, I would have destroyed the race on such a course," Armstrong had said before the start.

In 2009, the script was a little bit different but the Texan had not made any false promises.

He was modest and honest about his performance when he finally fronted a scrum of cameras and mikes which threatened to collapse any minute, forcing him to turn away to restore some order.

"We will see where the other ones are but I did not have big illusions," he said.

"It is a difficult course for sure but I think it is difficult for everybody. It is very technical, it is hard to find a rhythm but that's logical after years away," he added.

Before talking to the media, Armstrong had stayed in the bus to rest a little and watch team mate Levi Leipheimer's race on television. His compatriot took 10 seconds off him.