Lotto-Soudal first off in Tirreno-Adriatico team time trial

Image 1 of 5

Belgian WorldTour team Lotto Soudal will be the first of 22 squads to start Wednesday's Tirreno-Adriatico stage 1 team time trial. Lotto Soudal will roll out for the 22.7km stage at 2 pm sharp with five-minute intervals between the 21 teams to follow.

BMC Racing are the last team to start at 3:45 pm and are expected to finish at 4 pm.

The teams will head out from Lido di Camaiore for 9.5km on the flat and straight coastal road before making the turn around at Forte dei Marmi. A time check will also be made at the turn point before the teams head back to Lido di Camaiore on the same road.

As the teams will be racing on the same road, they will be able to see their rivals on the way to and back from the turnaround.

BMC Racing Team won the opening team time trial last year, two seconds ahead of Etixx-Quick Step. The two teams are likely to be the front runners again in 2017. The Belgian Quick-Step Floors team will start the stage at 2:35 pm, giving BMC the advantage of knowing what time they need to beat to secure the victory.

The team's of GC favourites Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) will be two early squads to watch, starting at 2:05 pm and 2:35 pm respectively.

For the full 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico race preview, click here and to subscribe to the Cyclingnews Podcast, click here.

Tirreno-Adriatico team time trial start times

Watch the video below to see who are Cyclingnews' five riders to watch at Tirreno-Adriatico and to subscribe to the Cyclingnews Youtube channel, click here