Danish outfit CSC-Saxo Bank line up.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Olympic Champion Fabian Cancellara leads CSC-Saxo Bank on its winning run.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
CSC-Saxo Bank ready to rock.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Team CSC-Saxo Bank wins the opening day of the Tour de Pologne.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Team CSC-Saxo Bank on the podium after its winning effort in the Tour de Pologne.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Lars Bak takes the leader's jersey after the win by CSC-Saxo Bank.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Lars Bak (CSC-Saxo Bank) in the leader's yellow jersey of the Tour de Pologne.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Danish Team CSC clocked the fastest time over the quick, but technical course four-kilometre course in the centre of Warsaw. Danish time trial champion Lars Bak, being the first rider over the line, takes yellow leader's jersey.
The opening stage of the 65th Tour de Pologne started with Team Milram, which produced time of four minutes 12 seconds. It was good enough for an eventual eight place on the day.
Quick Step bettered the German team by one second. A quarter of an hour later, Liquigas, known as a strong TTT contender, went trough the course with average of 58 km/h and took the lead with time under four minutes and nine seconds.
The time stood as the best for a long time with even after Team Columbia, Rabobank, Caisse d'Epargne and last year's winner, Lampre.
The time in the driver's seat was finally over for Liquigas when powerful Team CSC-Saxo Bank started the course around Theatre Square. The CSC boys, led by Olympic and World TT champion Fabian Cancellara, set the fastest time at the intermediate check after two kilometres, and didn't slow down in the latter part of the trial.
They finished the course with over three second advantage on Liquigas, crossing the line with its six riders: Bak, Cancellara, the Schleck brothers, Larsson and Voigt. Its time was four minutes and five seconds.
The drama was not over though. Behind CSC, next to start was Silence-Lotto, team of last year's winner Johan Van Summeren. He began the trial very fast, leading his team for first couple of hundreds metres. Unfortunately, on one of the corners the second rider in line fell, taking with him two others and stopping the fourth man. They not only had to slow down, but even wait for their fifth rider since his time counted for stage and general standings. No wonder that their time was in the end the slowest with 33 seconds deficit to Team CSC.
The Last team to start was long awaited Polish National Team, Polska-BGZ, which didn't have a great ride – it's time of over four minutes and 19 seconds was good enough for just sixteenth place.
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