Returning to European racing following a layoff after a strong run at the spring Classics, the Discovery Channel pro cycling team's George Hincapie surprisingly won the prologue at the Dauphine Libere today in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>
Aix-les-Bains, France.  Hincapie turned in a winning time of 9:55 in the 7.9 kilometer event, one second ahead of fellow American and former teammate Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner.  The Discovery Channel team's Lance Armstrong finished fifth in 10:01, six seconds behind Hincapie.

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The victory is Hincapie's second this season, following his February 27 victory at Kurrne-Brussels-Kuurne, and the team's ninth.

"Today was a great win by George," said Johan Bruyneel, the team's sports manager.  "He was clearly not the favorite but he knew he was in great shape and did an amazing ride; especially on the downhill portion of the course, he was impressive.  He was the only rider on our team I was unable to follow in the car."

Bruyneel said the victory was a big boost for both Hincapie's and the team's overall morale heading into the key pre-Tour de France stage race. "He really impressed me today," he said of Hincapie.

Regarding Armstrong, Bruyneel said he did a solid ride bearing in mind it was the Texan's first competition since the Tour de Georgia in late April.

"Calculating the fact he had a little incident on the climb and lost some time by pulling his foot out of the pedal, it was a very satisfying test," Bruyneel said.  "I'm happy with his performance."

The week-long Dauphine Libere continues tomorrow with a 224 km stage from Aix-les-Bains to Givors.

Click here for complete prologue results.