Astana win team time trial to kick off Giro del Trentino

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Astana put in a perfect winning performance in the opening team time trial of the Giro del Trentino, putting Valerio Agnoli into the race leader's jersey. The Italian team put 14 seconds into Team Sky, giving Vincenzo Nibali an advantage over rival Mikel Landa of Sky. AG2R La Mondiale were third on the same time as Sky, while Bora Argon 18 finished two seconds back.

Their team time trial victory puts a series of Astana riders in the top places in the overall classification, led by Agnoli. More importantly, Nibali has a 14-second advantage over his potentially nearest rival Landa heading into a 220km stage that ends on a summit in Anras (Austria). The climb is a new addition to the race and features a four-kilometre, 7 per cent drag to the finish line.

The Giro del Trentino kicked off with a 12.1km team time trial overlooking Lake Garda in Riva del Garda and travelled along the breezy coastline before turning inland for a fast a technical section of the course. Each team then lit it up for long straight roads back to Lake Garda for the finish in Torbole.

The event started with the two headlining teams in the race: Team Sky with their leader Landa and Astana with Nibali.

Team Sky were the first team off the starting ramp and finished with an opening time of 13:44, setting up Landa for a good start to the four-day stage race. Their roster for the event is Phil Deignan, Christian Knees, Ian Boswell, David Lopez, Alex Peters, Xabier Zandio and local resident and neo-pro Gianni Moscon.

Although it was good performance, Astana stormed through 14 seconds faster, giving Nibali the early edge over Landa in the general classification at the end of the day. Nibali’s support crew for the race includes Valerio Agnoli, Eros Capecchi, Jakob Fuglsang, Tanel Kangert, Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev, Davide Malacarne and Michele Scarponi.

An unfortunate crash for Drapac saw them lose two riders after they overcooked one of the sharp corners. Most of the riders got back up and carried on and they clocked in with 14:24.

The next overall favourites to start were with team AG2R La Mondiale: Domenico Pozzovivo and Roman Bardet. The team slotted in third place 14 seconds behind Astana and with the same time as Team Sky.

Bora-Argon 18, surprise winners of the previous year’s team time trial, had a strong ride with 13:46, two seconds slower than AG2R La Mondiale and Team Sky, and just off the podium in fourth.

There were several Italian teams out on course with Amore & Vita, Androni Giocattoli, Nippo-Vini Fantini, d'Amico Bottecchia, Bardiani-CSF and Southeast-Venezuela. The big Italian stage race is an important event for them to show their colours and strength.

Of the Italian teams, Nippo-Vini Fantini and Bardiani-CSF were the highest placed in the team time trial, in sixth and seventh, both at 34 seconds back. Southeast-Venezuela was only one second off their mark in eighth.

Gazprom-Rusvelo started as the last team of the day with several top riders that could upset for a stage win or a top GC place, including Sergey Firsanov. The team did not disappoint, finishing in fifth place at 22 seconds behind Astana.

The racing will continue with 220km second stage from Lienz to Arco-Anras. It will be the first test for the climbers with two Category 2 ascents over Vigolo Vattaro mid-stage, followed by a final Category 1 climb to Anras in Austria.

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