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The Australian team Orica Green Edge have won the first stage of the Giro d’Italia and once again proved themselves to be the kings of the Team Time Trial. Simon Gerrans was the man to lead them over and as such will take the first pink jersey of the race.
Thankfully there were no crashes in any team and everyone will line up again healthy and happy tomorrow which is a massive plus for the race.
In the battle for the pink jersey in three weeks time Tinkoff Saxo and Alberto Contador draw first blood by finishing second and they were giving Orica Green Edge a real scare when at the half way point they held the lead. Contador actually lost the wheel at one point and this could well have cost Tinkoff Saxo the win as they had no option but to wait for Contador to catch up.
With Tinkoff Saxo finishing seven seconds behind and bettering the time of Astana who were the leaders for much of the day after being one of the early starters Contador will be over the moon with his teams performance. Likewise Fabio Aru the leader of Astana will be happy as well who is only 6 seconds behind Contador.
Rigoberto Uran who has finished second two years in a row at the Giro d’italia and his Etixx Quickstep team managed to finish in 4th position 12 seconds behind Contador and Porte is 20 seconds behind Contador after a below par effort by Team Sky. The 20 seconds is a very significant amount in the grand scheme of things but there is still 20 days to go.
The biggest underachievers of the day were Cannondale Garmin and Ryder Hesejdal. They finished in 19th position 54 seconds off the pace.
In the end though, it’s Orica Green Edge too strong as they win yet another Team Time Trial.
The professional cycling calendar’s first Grand Tour is upon us with the Giro d’Italia kicking off on Saturday evening. Join The Roar from 10:50pm (AEST) for our live commentary of Stage 1.
The first stage is a 17.6 kilometre Team Time Trial from San Lorenzo Al Mare to Sanremo. It will decide who will don the race’s first Maglia Rosa (pink jersey).
The Team Time Trial to launch this year’s Giro d’Italia will be one of the most important stages of the race. While there is no way the overall honours for the race will be won on the first day, it is a quick-fire to way to lose the race if a team of one of the overall contenders doesn’t perform.
The time gaps shouldn’t be too large from Stage 1, but seconds can mean the difference at the end of the race and defending is a lot easier than trying to chase lost time over the next 20 stages.
Crashes are also a massive worry within a Team Time Trial. You only need to look back as far as last year to find an examples. Dan Martin, one of the race’s favourites, and his Garmin team crashed in the 2014 Giro’s Team Time Trial in Ireland. The crash ended his race and ruined his team’s chances for the rest of the race.
The route for Stage 1’s Team Time Trial is pancake flat. In fact the biggest rise is to just 12 metres above sea level. However, the worrying thing for the teams is the fact that it will be raced straight along the coast of Italy, meaning it could be quite windy. With at least five riders being required at the finish it could be a struggle for certain teams to stay together.
Looking at the potential favourites for the race and it seems to be a two-way battle between teams that seem to take out every Team Time Trial there is to win – Sky and Orica-GreenEDGE.
From Orica’s point of view they want to win this to take the first pink jersey and really make their race a success. From Sky’s point of view, having an overall contender in Richie Porte will mean they just want to beat the likes of Saxo–Tinkoff with Alberto Contador, Ettix Quickstep with Rigoberto Uran, and Team Astana with Fabio Aru.
Etixx Quickstep are another potential team who would win the Team Time Trial, and they have performed well in this discipline in the past. They might not have their strongest team for the discipline but will aim to protect the best interests of leader Rigoberto Uran.
Possible other dark horses for the stage include BMC Racing, who always go well in the Team Time Trial, and Cannondale Garmin, who have named an interesting nine-man team for the Giro.
Prediction
You can’t go past Orica-GreenEDGE. They have made it clear that they are here for the Team Time Trial and to hold the pink jersey for the first week with some stage wins. The extra motivation should get the job done for them.
Join us right here on The Roar from 10:50pm (AEST) for our live coverage of the 2015 Giro d’Italia Stage 1.