Giro d'Italia: Tom Dumoulin wins stage 1

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To the delight of the home crowd Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) won the first maglia rosa of the Giro d’Italia after beating Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) by the finest of margins on stage 1. Dumoulin came over the line just 0.01 seconds quicker than the Slovenian to take Giant-Alpecin’s first victory of the season. Andrey Amador (Movistar) put in an impressive performance to round out the top three.

Ahead of the opening time trial in Dumoulin had tried to deflect the pressure onto another pre-stage favourite, Fabian Cancellara. The Dutchman hadn’t won a time trial this season until this point, being beaten by less than a second in Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie. As Dumoulin approached the line, it looked like he might just miss out for the third time this season but edged out surprise package Roglic.

Just as Dumoulin finished, Cancellara set off for his effort and it would be a tense 11-minute wait before the Swiss rider posted his time. The Netherland’s King Willem-Alexander, who had been hovering behind Dumoulin as he warmed down, was the first to congratulate him.

“I’m feeling sick in my stomach now but at the same time I’m so happy. I did it and the luck was on my side today. The luck that I didn’t have in Romandie paid back here in the Netherlands and it’s very special,” Dumoulin said immediately after the finish.

“I didn’t do my best TT but I also didn’t do my worst. I didn’t really do a mistake, but I would have liked to have been a bit starter but in the end the result is all that counts and I did it.”

Roglic was the surprise of the afternoon as he knocked Dumoulin’s teammate Tobias Ludvigsson off the top spot. Riding his first Grand Tour after switching from ski jumping to cycling, Roglic wouldn’t have expected to be so high up but there was still a wry smile from the 26-year-old when he saw his time beaten by Dumoulin.

Cancellara had been among the favourites going into the opening stage but contracted a stomach illness on Wednesday evening and he finished a disappointing eighth and 14 seconds down.

More on this story

• Giro d'Italia stage 1 - Video Highlights
• Giro d'Italia stage 1: Finish line quotes

Stage 1 Video Highlights

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How it unfolded

The Giro d’Italia 2016 kicked off with a 9.8km time trial around the centre of Apeldoorn, beginning three days in the Netherlands. Mathias Brandle (IAM Cycling) was one of the first riders to set a true benchmark time, coming over the line in 11:17. He enjoyed the comfort of the hot-seat for some 15 minutes before he was booted off by Ludvigsson, who went six seconds faster.

Ludvigsson’s time on the hot-seat was much longer. Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) posted a very quick time at the first check but it proved to be too fast and he would lose 20 seconds by the finish line. Roglic went through the same check a second behind Wellens but he held his own in the second half of the stage to go eight seconds quicker.

Roglic’s teammate Jos Van Emden was among those listed as potential winners but the Dutchman slipped out on a right-hand bend. On a short course such as this, it was enough to end any hopes of taking the victory. To add insult to injury the crash had dislodged his aero bars and he rolled in over a minute down. Stefan Kung (BMC) was found out on the same corner and took out a couple of spectators for good measure, meaning that he finished 30 seconds down.

The overall contenders

While Dumoulin had discounted any attempt at the overall classification, he has given himself a good buffer ahead of the other contenders. Behind him, Nibali was the best GC performer with his time of 11:22. Steven Kruijswijk was just three seconds slower than Nibali, while Landa lost 40 seconds to Dumoulin.

The pink jersey should stay with Dumoulin through to the Italian stages, with the coming days set for the sprinters but anything could happen over the next two stages. 

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