Evans happy with new time trial equipment

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Pre-race favourite, Cadel Evans said he was satisfied with his performance in the prologue time trial of the Criterium du Daupiné Sunday. The Australian BMC rider's nine second deficit over the 5.4 kilometre course to winner Lars Boom (Rabobank) sees Evans sitting in seventh place heading into day two.

By the time Evans left the start house, the roads had began to dry out after a heavy morning downpour and a shower that dogged some of the early starters.

"Unfortunately, when it's changing weather conditions, it can make for a little bit of an unfair racing," Evans said after the prologue. "But it was good the roads dried up for the GC favorites. It's a good start to what is going to be an interesting race. "

The time trial was also an opportunity for Evans and the BMC squad to test out the recently refined frames of the team's time trial rigs.

"For us, [it was] an interesting day to try some new equipment that the guys at BMC have been working away," the former world champion revealed on his blog. "Now having tried everything in both training and race conditions, I can happily say 'great job boys' - better we have those bikes than our competitors..."

Evans predicted that there will be a few riders on the move in the general classification on stage one between Albertville and Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, where the favourites are expected to save themselves for later in the week.

BMC Racing directeur sportif John Lelangue believed Evans' time trial performance showed that the three-time runner-up is on track to perhaps go one better in 2011.

"There is still a big time trial coming and some nice mountain top finishes," he said. "Most important today was to be safe and not lose time."