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BMC Racing have won stage one of the 2015 Vuelta a Espana by less than a second to Tinkoff Saxo and then Orica GreenEDGE.
Whilst it won’t mean anything for the General Classification due to the neutralisation they will take the first overall lead of the race and wear the red jersey tomorrow. Many of the teams with General Classification riders just aimed to get to the end in safety creating a very strange stage and opening to the 2015 Vuelta.
TOP 5:
1. BMC Racing @ 8:10
2. Tinkoff Saxo @ 8:11
3. Orica GreenEDGE @ 8:11
4. Trek Factory Racing @ 8:21
5. Lotto – NLJumbo @ 8:22
The final Grand Tour of the 2015 cycling season, la Vuelta a Espana, kicks off with a short, pancake-flat team time trial for Stage 1. Join The Roar for live coverage from 2:30am (AEST)
The team time trial sees the teams take on a course that is just about as easy as they come – there are about three corners on the 7.4km route from Puerto Banus to Marbella. There have however been concerns raised over some of the roads in the lead up to the race.
The speed will be high and plenty of risks will be taken by the teams, particularly those with general classification hopes, where every second could count. Realistically though, the chance of large time gaps opening up on the stage are minute.
The usual suspects in team time trials, like Etixx-Quickstep, Orica-GreenEDGE, BMC and Sky, will all be present at the top end of the leaderboard come the end of the 7.4km, with Sky the team to watch in the GC race.
Chris Froome, Sky’s leader who won this year’s Tour de France, will more than likely struggle in the high mountains of la Vuelta as the crazy gradients favour a more attacking, aggressive rider, so this stage is important for him.
Orica-GreenEDGE have put a strong team together for the race and have always been strong in the team time trial.
Etixx-Quickstep will be looking to get a good result, as they haven’t brought a genuine sprinter or climber who could challenge for stages, GC or the sprint jersey.
BMC are aiming to look after Tejay van Garderen, however they are current world champions at the team time trial, and a strong showing today could springboard Van Garderen into a good GC position.
Other teams that could cause an upset are Astana, Movistar, Cannondale-Garmin and possibly even Trek Factory Racing, who have Fabian Cancellara to guide them along the short course.
Prediction
It’s hard to go past Sky with Froome, Geraint Thomas and Nicolas Roche to pull them along. OGE will also be up there, and I expect Cannondale-Garmin to deliver Andrew Talansky into a good position.
With a fascinating team time trial ahead, be sure to join The Roar for live coverage from 2:30am (AEST) and don’t forget to comment below!
Update: The battle for general classification has been officially neutralised due to the conditions of the road. There will still be a winner however and a leader of the team classification.