LONDON (Reuters):

BRITISH RIDERS Bradley Wiggins and David Millar will take centre stage when the Tour de France begins with a 7.9km prologue on the streets of London today.

Wiggins is heavily favoured to clock the fastest time but the London-born rider is expected to face tough competition from fellow Briton Millar of the Saunier-Duval team.

The Scot, who won the Tour's prologue in 2000 and returned to cycling last year after a two-year doping ban, is a serious contender along with Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara and American David Zabriskie.

Wiggins, 27, is in top form having won the prologue at last month's prestigious Dauphine Libere and could give his hometown fans a memorable introduction to the sport's premier race.

"I learned a lot last year about preparation and what it takes," the Cofidis rider told reporters, referring to his 16th place on the technical Strasbourg course.

"This year's course is better suited to me - wide roads, sweeping bends, a lot of time to get up a good rhythm, to get up to 60kph and just sit on that. This is a prestigious prologue, especially considering the quality of the site," Tour competition director Jean-Francois Pescheux said.

"The riders will pass in front of Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster and right through Hyde Park. It is destined to be very imposing."

CSC rider Zabriskie, a winner of the Tour's prologue in 2005, will be out to spoil the British party, though he has yet to ride the course. Time-trial world champion Cancellara took the Tour de Suisse opening stage against the clock, but recent back trouble could yet hamper his progress.

American George Hincapie of the Discovery Channel team, second last year in Strasbourg, could also cause an upset should the favourites fail to shine.