BMC wins team time trial at Giro del Trentino

BMC took a dominant victory in the opening team time trial of the Giro del Trentino from Riva del Garda to Arco di Trento to propel Taylor Phinney into the overall lead. Powered largely by Phinney and Marco Pinotti, BMC finished 10 seconds clear of Astana, with a surprisingly strong Colnago-CSF a further three seconds back in third.

Liquigas-Cannondale, the penultimate team down the start ramp, were widely expected to provide the stiffest challenge to BMC’s early time, but while Ivan Basso and his cohorts looked smooth early on, they were off the pace by halfway. A mix-up on a technical left hander saw them lose Paolo Longo Borghini from the pace line and compounded their low-key showing. They eventually came home in 6th place, 19 seconds down on BMC.

Lampre-ISD were out looking to limit the losses of Damiano Cunego and Michele Scarponi on the 14km course, but they coughed up 23 seconds to BMC, after an early crash saw Matt Lloyd and Morris Possoni hit the deck.

It was a better day out for Astana squad, and their second-place finish means that the stylish Roman Kreuziger is well-positioned to make a serious challenge for overall honours. Domenico Pozzovivo and José Rujano will also be pleased with their afternoons, as their Colnago-CSF and Androni Venezuela teams conceded just 13 and 15 seconds respectively.

With the vicious slopes of the Punta Velena and the mighty summit of the Passo Pordoi on the menu later in the week, the climbers will have ample opportunity to showcase their wares, and the strong showings by some of their teams on day one has tipped the balance in their favour still further.

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