Johansson wins Internationale Thüringen Rundfahrt opening stage

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Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) sprinted to victory on the opening stage of the Internationale Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen and claimed the first leader's jersey of the seven-day German race. Lizzie Armitstead (Boels Dolmans Cycling Team) finished in second behind Johansson on the uphill finale with the top three rounded out by Annemiek Van Vleuten (Rabobank-Liv/Giant), both in the same time as the winner of the 62km stage.

Linda Villumsen (Wiggle Honda) had made a strong solo move inside the final 15km and the New Zealander gained 35 seconds on the field, but the combined efforts of Orica-AIS and Rabobank-Liv/Giant neutralised the escape just 500 meters from the finish.

"It's nice to come back and win right away," said Johansson, the overall winner of the 2011 edition. "The team backed me up so well. I'm happy to pull it off for them and for myself, as well. We worked hard together for this.

"Coming into the final, I was searching for the best wheel. Ellen [Van Dijk] had a teammate on the front and Lizzie [Armitstead] and Annemiek [Van Vleuten] were fighting for the wheel. I tucked in behind those two. It was perfect.

"I matched my speed to Ellen [Van Dijk]. I knew I needed to build up to my sprint on the uphill and unleash when we hit the cobbles. I did that exactly and never looked back."

With time bonuses picked up for the stage win as well as both intermediate sprints Johansson holds a six-second lead on Van Vleuten and a nine-second lead on third-placed Armitstead.

Both intermediate sprints were hotly contested with Johansson finishing in second place to Van Vleuten in the first sprint and edging out Van Vleuten on the second sprint. Having taken her first Thüringen overall title by virtue of bonus seconds on the final day of racing, Johansson knows well the importance of securing time wherever she can.

"This tour has been won on bonus seconds more than once," said Orica-AIS directeur sportif Dave McPartland. "It's a bloody hard race, and the stages are selective, but with no mountaintop finish, it's possible to have five or six riders with a realistic shot of winning the overall towards the end of the tour. This can get separated by the time trial a fair bit, but we don't want to rely on that. Bonus seconds can be the difference between winning and second or third."

"We have a strong team here," Johansson said. "Everyone is very motivated. With the win today, we're even more confident that we can win the overall."