Giro d'Italia favourites to start TT early to avoid thunderstorms

Many of the big-name contenders of at 2019 Giro d’Italia will start Saturday's opening time trial early in the hope of avoiding rain showers and thunderstorms forecast for the evening.

Team leaders usually start last in time trials to see how their teammates and rivals perform and to please race organisers and television broadcasters who want a crescendo to the race.

However, the weather in Bologna is expected to worsen during Saturday afternoon and evening, with the worst conditions forecast for around 8pm CET when the last rider is due to reach the finish near the hilltop Santuario di San Luca.

Riders and teams are concerned that racing in the rain will cost them vital seconds on the flat roads out of the centre of Bologna and especially on the 2.1km climb to San Luca, where wheels could slip on the 9.7 per cent average gradient. The opening time trial will immediately shape the overall classification of the Giro d’Italia, with the natural climbers keen to lose as little as possible to the better time trialists.

The official start list shows that Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) will be the first rider to start the 8km time trial at 4:50pm CET. Miguel Angel López (Astana) starts a few minutes after at 4:54pm, with Bob Jungels (Deceuninck-QuickStep) off at 4:56pm, Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) at 4:58 and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) at 5:01pm. Tao Geoghegan Hart is the first rider to start for Team Ineos at 5:11pm, with co-leader Pavel Sivakov off at 5:33pm.

The start order of the 22 teams is drawn from a hat during the pre-race meeting and Team Sunweb were drawn first and so opted for Dumoulin to start first.

The only overall contender not to start in the first team rotation is Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott). He will be the third to last rider to start, at 7:43pm, with Mitchelton-Scott perhaps unconcerned about the weather conditions or hoping any rain will have stopped by then.

Several riders did an extra reconnaissance ride on Friday to decide on their equipment choices for the time trial. All teams have apparently decided against making a bike change and switching to a climbing bike for the road up to San Luca. Riders are now used to riding their time trial bikes on hilly terrain and so will try to stay in aero position and then dance on the pedals on the steepest sections.

Bike weight will be a vital factor, with team mechanics working to ensure bikes are as close to the 6.8kg limit as possible. Some riders may opt to use deep section wheels rather than the more aerodynamic but heavier disc wheels.

Giro d'Italia stage 1 start times

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamTime (CET)
1Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb16:50:00
2Tanel Kangert (Est) EF Education First16:51:00
3Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin16:52:00
4Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale16:53:00
5Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team16:54:00
6Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe16:55:00
7Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep16:56:00
8Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal16:57:00
9Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida16:58:00
10Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ16:59:00
11Amaro Antunes (Por) CCC Team17:00:00
12Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma17:01:00
13Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team17:02:00
14Damiano Cima (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane17:03:00
15Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec17:04:00
16Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo17:05:00
17Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF17:06:00
18Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data17:07:00
19Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates17:08:00
20Mikel Nieve (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott17:09:00
21Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy17:10:00
22Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos17:11:00
23Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb17:12:00
24Hugh John Carthy (GBr) EF Education First17:13:00
25Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin17:14:00
26Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale17:15:00
27Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team17:16:00
28Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe17:17:00
29James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-QuickStep17:18:00
30Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal17:19:00
31Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Merida17:20:00
32Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ17:21:00
33Victor De La Parte (Spa) CCC Team17:22:00
34Laurens De Plus (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma17:23:00
35Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Movistar Team17:24:00
36Hiroki Nishimura (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane17:25:00
37Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec17:26:00
38Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo17:27:00
39Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF17:28:00
40Danilo Wyss (Swi) Dimension Data17:29:00
41Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates17:30:00
42Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott17:31:00
43Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy17:32:00
44Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos17:33:00
45Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb17:34:00
46Joe Dombrowski (USA) EF Education First17:35:00
47Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin17:36:00
48Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale17:37:00
49Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team17:38:00
50Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe17:39:00
51Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep17:40:00
52Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal17:41:00
53Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida17:42:00
54Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ17:43:00
55Laurens ten Dam (Ned) CCC Team17:44:00
56Jos van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma17:45:00
57Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team17:46:00
58Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane17:47:00
59Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec17:48:00
60Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo17:49:00
61Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSF17:50:00
62Scott Davies (GBr) Dimension Data17:51:00
63Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates17:52:00
64Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott17:53:00
65Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy17:54:00
66Jonnathan Narvaez (Ecu) Team Ineos17:55:00
67Jan Bakelants (Bel) Team Sunweb17:56:00
68Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First17:57:00
69Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin17:58:00
70Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale17:59:00
71Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team18:00:00
72Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe18:01:00
73Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep18:02:00
74Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal18:03:00
75Kristijan Koren (Slo) Bahrain-Merida18:04:00
76Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ18:05:00
77Francisco Ventoso (Spa) CCC Team18:06:00
78Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma18:07:00
79Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team18:08:00
80Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane18:09:00
81Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec18:10:00
82Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo18:11:00
83Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF18:12:00
84Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Dimension Data18:13:00
85Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates18:14:00
86Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott18:15:00
87Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy18:16:00
88Edward Dunbar (Irl) Team Ineos18:17:00
89Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb18:18:00
90Jonathan Caicedo (Ecu) EF Education First18:19:00
91Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin18:20:00
92François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale18:21:00
93Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team18:22:00
94Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe18:23:00
95Mikkel Frølich Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep18:24:00
96Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal18:25:00
97Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida18:26:00
98Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ18:27:00
99Jakub Mareczko (Ita) CCC Team18:28:00
100Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma18:29:00
101Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team18:30:00
102Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane18:31:00
103Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec18:32:00
104Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo18:33:00
105Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF18:34:00
106Ben O'Connor (Aus) Dimension Data18:35:00
107Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates18:36:00
108Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott18:37:00
109Ruben Plaza (Spa) Israel Cycling Academy18:38:00
110Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Ineos18:39:00
111Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb18:40:00
112Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First18:41:00
113Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin18:42:00
114Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale18:43:00
115Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team18:44:00
116Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe18:45:00
117Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep18:46:00
118Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal18:47:00
119Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida18:48:00
120Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ18:49:00
121Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team18:50:00
122Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma18:51:00
123José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team18:52:00
124Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane18:53:00
125Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec18:54:00
126Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo18:55:00
127Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF18:56:00
128Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Dimension Data18:57:00
129Juan Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates18:58:00
130Brent Bookwalter (USA) Mitchelton-Scott18:59:00
131Conor Dunne (Irl) Israel Cycling Academy19:00:00
132Ivan Sosa (Col) Team Ineos19:01:00
133Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb19:02:00
134Sean Bennett (USA) EF Education First19:03:00
135Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin19:04:00
136Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale19:05:00
137Davide Villella (Ita) Astana Pro Team19:06:00
138Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe19:07:00
139Eros Capecchi (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep19:08:00
140Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal19:09:00
141Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida19:10:00
142Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ19:11:00
143Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Team19:12:00
144Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma19:13:00
145Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team19:14:00
146Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane19:15:00
147Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec19:16:00
148Will Clarke (Aus) Trek-Segafredo19:17:00
149Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF19:18:00
150Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data19:19:00
151Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates19:20:00
152Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott19:21:00
153Awet Andemeskel (Eri) Israel Cycling Academy19:22:00
154Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos19:23:00
155Rob Power (Aus) Team Sunweb19:24:00
156Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First19:25:00
157Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin19:26:00
158Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale19:27:00
159Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team19:28:00
160Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe19:29:00
161Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep19:30:00
162Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal19:31:00
163Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida19:32:00
164Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ19:33:00
165Kamil Gradek (Pol) CCC Team19:34:00
166Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma19:35:00
167Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team19:36:00
168Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane19:37:00
169Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec19:38:00
170Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo19:39:00
171Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF19:40:00
172Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Dimension Data19:41:00
173Fernando Gaviria (Col) UAE Team Emirates19:42:00
174Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott19:43:00
175Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy19:44:00
176Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos19:45:00

 

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.