Svein Tuft, in his first Tour de France, pulled Orica-GreenEdge to the stage win(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Astana in team time trial action.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Omega Pharma-QuickStep toast team time trial victory.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Liquigas won the 2007 Giro team time trial (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
This year's Giro d'Italia kicks off with an evening time trial around the centre of Belfast, with teams in action between 5:50pm and 8:00pm local time.
The 22 teams will cover a urban route of 21.7km that starts in the Titanic museum and ends in Donegall Square.
The first half of the route is straight and fast on the Newtownwards Road, with the half-way point in the shadow of Stormont Castle. The riders face a spectacular and fast descent and rise up to the Castle before a loop in the gardens takes them down and back onto the Newtownwards Road where they will cross paths with other teams in action.
The final part of the route includes a series of turns in the city centre, where it will be vital for teams to stay together and accelerate out of the corners. A last right turn leads into Donegall Square, with each time taken on the fifth rider to cross the finish line.
The first rider to finish of the fastest team will pull on the first race leader's pink jersey.
The teams start at five minute intervals, with the Colombia team first off at 5:50pm local time. Big favourite for victory Orica-GreenEdge also has an early start at 5:55pm, while Neri Sottoli is the last team to start at 7:35pm local time.
There will be full live coverage of all the action here on Cyclingnews.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
