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South Australian Rohan Dennis moves in the Maillot Jaune after claiming a surprise victory in the opening stage, an individual time trial, of the 2015 Tour de France.
Setting a time of 14:56″ over the 13.8 kilometre-long course, the BMC Racing Team rider needed to wait most the day to find out whether or not he had set the best time.
Despite valiant attempts from Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara and Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, no one else could crack the sub-15 minute mark.
Setting an average speed of 55.446 kilometres per hour during his astonishing performance meant that the Australian will not only endure a memorable day in yellow, but hold the new record for the highest recorded average speed in a prologue or individual time trial event at the Tour de France. The previous record was set at the 1994 Tour de France, during a 7.2 kilometre time trial around the French city of Lille.
Meanwhile, in the battle for yellow, the four pre-race favourites all finished within 20 seconds of each others. Astana Pro Team’s Vincenzo Nibali is the best placed, somewhat unexpectedly finishing ahead of both Alberto Contador and Christopher Froome. However, there were some surprising performances among the general classification outsiders, with Frenchman Thibaut Pinot exceeding expectations with a time of 15:37″, just 41 seconds slower Dennis’ time.
2015 Tour de France – Stage 1 Results:
01. Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing)… 14:56″
02. Tony Martin (Etixx – Quick-Step)… +0:05″
03. Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing)… +0:06″
04. Tom Dumoulin (Giant – Alpecin)… +0:08″
05. Jos Van Emden (LottoNL – Emden)… +0:15″
06. Matthias Brandle (IAM Cycling)… +0:23″
07. Jonathan Castroviejo (Team Movistar)… +0:23″
08. Adriano Malori (Team Movistar)… +0:29″
09. Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL – Jumbo)… +0:30″
10. Stephen Cummings (MTN – Qhubeka)… +0:32″
The 2015 Tour de France kicks off with a 13.8 kilometre-long individual time trial around the streets of Utrecht. Who will strike the first blow in the battle for the Maillot Jaune? Join The Roar from 9:30pm (AEST) for live coverage of ‘La Grande Boucle’ and find out.
While the time trial course organised by the race does involve some technical elements, with some challenging 90-degree bends for example, overall the parcours is one that will suit the time trial specialists. Some sprinters, Peter Sagan being the prime choice, may also exceed expectations and vie for a place in the top ten for the stage thanks to the short nature of the route.
While Tony Martin, ‘Der Panzerwagon’ as he is affectionately nicknamed, begins the stage as the leading favourite the locals will be hoping to see an upset. Conspicuously, Martin has yet to win an opening time trial event at the Tour de France despite his recent dominance in the discipline.
The local Dutch crowd will be cheering on Tom Dumoulin in his attempt to become the first Dutchman to wear the Maillot Jaune since 1989. While Dumoulin failed to claim the national champions jersey in the time trial discipline at the Dutch National Championships he comes in to the race emboldened by some great results at the Tour de Suisse.
Despite a decision to focus more heavily on the attributes which make him a strong classics rider one cannot discount the experience of Fabian Cancellara.
After a disappointing classics campaign ruined by injury today presents itself as one of many opportunities for the Swiss rider to salvage his season. Having previously dominated the opening time trial of ‘Le Tour’ a staggering five times Cancellara certainly has the experience and ability to slip under the radar and strike from the shadows.
Lying in wait for the a chance to upstage the favourites should the stars align are a number of dark horses, with Australian hopes resting on the shoulders of Rohan Dennis. The two likeliest candidates, on paper, to upset the apple cart are Adriano Malori and Rohan Dennis but keep an eye out for the likes of Matthias Brändle, Alex Dowsett, Sylvain Chavanel, Michal Kwiatkowski as well.
In the battle for the golden yellow of the Maillot Jaune it is expected that Sky Pro Cycling’s Chris Froome will strike the first blow and gain a small advantage over the three other favourites. However, the British registered rider still looks out of sorts at times compared to his 2012 and 2013 performances and the gap back to his rivals, Alberto Contador especially, is not what it once was in the time trial discipline.
Remember to join The Roar from 9:30pm (AEST) for live coverage of the 2015 Tour de France’s long anticipated Grand Départ, the sixth to be hosted by the Netherlands in the race’s history.
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