Tour de France: Dennis sets record speed to claim first maillot jaune in Utrecht

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Rohan Dennis pulled off an audacious upset on a hot and windy afternoon in Utrecht to record his first professional time trial victory and become the seventh Australian to wear the yellow jersey. German national champion Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) struggled in the conditions as he finished second, five seconds behind Dennis. Having won the last five opening tests against the clock in the Tour de France, Fabian Cancellara could only manage third with the BMC rider upsetting the favourites with the fastest ever individual Tour de France time trial with an average speed of 55.4kph. The record was previously held by Chris Boardman following his 1994 prologue win in Lille.

Having switched to BMC from Garmin mid-way through last season, the move has paid dividends for Dennis has since won the Tour Down Under, held the world Hour Record, and worn yellow at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He was also a member of BMC's world champion team time trial success last September.

A flying ride by Jos van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo) saw the Dutchman record the fastest time at the intermediate checkpoint and set the early mark for success. Dennis put 15 seconds into his time to book a long and nervous afternoon in the hot seat.

"We decided to go off early, set a benchmark and make everyone else chase me. It worked out perfectly," said Dennis who had finished second in his last two time trials. "There's a little bit of shock. We've worked with the team and came out here about a month ago to check and recon the course. It's the Tour de France and the yellow jersey. I've always dreamed of being in this position and now I am.

"It started to sink in when I saw the big threats come in behind me. It was surreal but a few emotions came out."

Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) had the support of the crowd but the wait for the nation's first yellow jersey since 1989 was extended for another day as he also faded on the second half of the course. Dumoulin caught minuteman Tiago Machado on the final corner, losing half a second but there was no 'what if' when he crossed he line. Closest of the favourites at the time check, Dumoulin like Martin and Cancellara after him, saw his challenge unravel on the second half of the course.

Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) was the best of the 'fab four' as he crossed the line in 22nd place. 2013 champion Chris Froome (Team Sky) was next in 39th place, seven seconds down on Nibali, with Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) conceding 15 seconds and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) 18 seconds.

The LottoNL-Jumbo duo of Wilco Kelderman (9th) and Robert Gesink (11th) lived up to expectation on home soil as the best of the GC contenders. A third Dutchman, Bauke Mollema (Trek) put his recent back injures aside to finish in 11th place followed by Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-Quick Step), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Tejay van Garderen (BMC) in 20th place. It was another Frenchman, Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) who now finds himself on the back foot by conceding 54 seconds to his compatriot is the best placed of the podium challengers.

The early pace setters

Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka) had the honour of being the first rider down the start ramp wearing the colours of the Eritrean national champion and duly set the fastest times at the intermediate time check and the finish line. Jack Bauer (Cannondale-Garmin) was the first to topple Teklehaimanot, knocking 23 seconds off his time at the finish. MTN-Qhubeka would later be celebrating Steve Cummings' tenth place after all 198 riders had finished.

Jos Van Emden then set an early reference with the first sub 16-minute ride at 15:11 minutes. Robert Gesink was first rider within ten seconds of his Teammate before Dennis came within once second of his time on his blistering ride. Where the majority of the 198 riders slowed from the time check, Dennis was accelerating as his minuteman Lars Bak found out.

Dutch champion Kelderman was impressive on his Tour debut to cross the line in ninth and continue the impressive run of LottoNL-Jumbo on the day and claim the team classification prize. While Kelderman and Dumoulin had the support of the crowds, Alex Dowsett was doing a stealth job to appear seventh at the time check but unlike his Hour Record efforts, his pacing was off to slip to 13th. It was a similar story for Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar), Matthias Brändle (IAM Cyclin), and Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) who all came through the time check within five seconds of Dennis but struggled in the final kilometres.

Having been unsure of his participation in the Tour de France due to failing a pre-race MPCC cortisol test, Lars Boom turns his pedals in anger finished in 23rd, just one second behind teammate Nibali who was the best Astana rider on the day. 

Along with yellow, Dennis was also awarded the best young rider and points classification jerseys. Stage 2 of the Tour de France starts in Utrecht and finishes in the 'sea' at Zélande 166km later.

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