BMC strike first blow at Tirreno-Adriatico
Quick-Step second, FDJ third in opening team time trial
BMC Racing stormed their way to victory in the team time trial on the opening day of action at Tirreno-Adriatico. The American team almost came to the line with a full complement of riders, losing just one rider in the closing kilometres, and posted a time of 23:20 on the 22.7km route around the Tuscany seaside resort of Lido di Camaiore.
As the team entered the final stretch, they had a minute to work with but the drag was long and they held 17 seconds on Quick-Step Floors by the time they hit the line. Italian Damiano Caruso sprinted to the front of the group to lead them over and put himself into the first blue jersey. As the team's GC hopes collapsed at Paris-Nice this week, the victory sets up the general classification campaign of Tejay van Garderen nicely.
Nairo Quintana will also be satisfied with how his Movistar team performed. In Tuesday's pre-race press conference, Quintana had said the stage would be about limiting losses and they did that and more, clocking the third quickest time at just 22 seconds behind BMC.
Orica-Scott was the only other team to dip below the 24-minute mark with their effort of 22:45, putting Adam Yates into a strong position ahead of the mountains.
"Most of us are time trial specialists. We won like last year but faster than last year because we have two new riders in the team, Stefan Kung and Rohan Dennis who are really fast against the clock. They have made that difference today compared to last year," Caruso said before collecting his leader's jersey. "Maybe the weather conditions have also helped for a faster time. At the end I was first on the line, which enables me to wear the leader's jersey – it's a great honour. Racing at home in Italy with that jersey will be special. We'll see how far I can go with it. We're also racing for our leader Tejay van Garderen."
How it happened
Lotto Soudal kick-started the 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico, under sunny skies in Lido di Camaiore. They didn't have high expectations going into the stage but put in a solid performance of 24:12, which would be enough to hold off the attempts of Trek-Segafredo and Tom Dumoulin's Team Sunweb. The Dutchman's blunt appraisal of the time, which was four seconds slower than Lotto Soudal, was that it was simply 'not fast enough'. Dumoulin would have been hoping to put time into his rivals on day one, rather than giving it away.
Movistar, who were sixth to start, would eventually knock Lotto Soudal out of the hot seat. While taking care to keep Quintana out of the wind as much as possible, they averaged over 57kph on the course. The team's time of 23:42 would give the Colombian a large buffer on some of his GC rivals going into the next stages and was a marked improvement on their 10th place ride over the same course last year.
Reigning team time trial world champions Quick-Step Floors were also in the first half of the teams, starting eighth of the 22 squads. With half the team that delivered them to that title in the eight-man line-up, plus the firepower of the likes of Zdenek Stybar and Tom Boonen, the Belgian outfit set off with just one result in mind.
Quick-Step Floors would cut five seconds off Movistar's time and replace them in the hot seat. The team had to wait well over an hour to see any other team could get close to them, as plenty tried and failed. Both FDJ and Orica-Scott put in strong performances, but they weren't sufficient to threaten their hold on the lead.
Team Sky had big hopes of what they might be able to do but several of their riders, including Mikel Landa and Diego Rosa, looked in trouble, and the team had to adjust to ensure they weren't dropped. A catastrophic wheel failure for Gianni Moscon, which sent him tumbling to the ground, was the final nail in the coffin. Fortunately for Moscon, he was able to remount, and he reported to the television cameras waiting at the finish that it was a pothole that had caused the failure.
As the winners of last year's time trial, BMC was the last team to depart down the starting ramp. They looked like a well-oiled machine throughout, losing just Manuel Quinziato in the final kilometres. With the line in sight, Caruso sprinted while the remainder of the team remained in formation on the other side of the road. The Italian led them over to put himself into the first leader's jersey of the race.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | BMC Racing | 0:23:20 |
2 | Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:17 |
3 | Movistar Team | 0:00:22 |
4 | FDJ | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Orica-Scott | 0:00:25 |
6 | LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:00:40 |
7 | Lotto Soudal | 0:00:52 |
8 | Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:53 |
9 | Dimension Data | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Astana | 0:00:55 |
11 | Sunweb | 0:00:56 |
12 | Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:58 |
13 | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:00 |
14 | UAE Team Emirates | 0:01:09 |
15 | Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:01:11 |
16 | Cannondale-Drapac | 0:01:18 |
17 | Katusha-Alpecin | 0:01:36 |
18 | Team Sky | 0:01:42 |
19 | Androni-Giocattoli | 0:01:45 |
20 | Bardiani-CSF | 0:02:21 |
21 | Nippo-Vini Fantini | 0:02:22 |
22 | Novo Nordisk | 0:02:52 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:23:21 |
2 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:16 |
8 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick-Step Floors | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:21 |
15 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) FDJ | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Daniel Moreno (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team | 0:00:24 |
27 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-Scott | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-Scott | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-Scott | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:00:39 |
33 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Lars Boom (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:00:42 |
38 | Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:51 |
39 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:52 |
44 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Bahrain-Merida | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Javier Moreno (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:54 |
56 | Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Andrey Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb | 0:00:55 |
62 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Sunweb | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:57 |
67 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Matthias Brändle (Aut) Trek-Segafredo | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:59 |
72 | Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Alexandre Geniez (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:00 |
77 | Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:02 |
78 | Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:01:08 |
79 | Matej Mohoric (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
81 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
82 | Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
84 | Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Bahrain-Merida | 0:01:09 |
86 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:01:10 |
87 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
89 | Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
90 | Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:12 |
92 | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:15 |
93 | Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:01:17 |
94 | Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
97 | Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:01:35 |
99 | Matvey Mamykin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
100 | Ángel Vicioso (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
101 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
102 | Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
103 | Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
104 | Rein Taaramäe (Est) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
105 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:01:37 |
106 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Orica-Scott | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
107 | Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:01:38 |
108 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky | 0:01:41 |
109 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
110 | Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
111 | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
112 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Sky | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
113 | Andrea Palini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | 0:01:44 |
114 | Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
115 | Egan Bernal (Col) Androni Giocattoli | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
116 | Raffaello Bonusi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
117 | Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
118 | Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
119 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
120 | Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:01:48 |
121 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
122 | Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:57 |
123 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:02:10 |
124 | Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) FDJ | 0:02:15 |
125 | Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF | 0:02:20 |
126 | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
127 | Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani CSF | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
128 | Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
129 | Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
130 | Eduard Grosu (Rom) Nippo - Vini Fantini | 0:02:21 |
131 | Julian Arredondo (Col) Nippo - Vini Fantini | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
132 | Alan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
133 | Iuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
134 | Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
135 | Hideto Nakane (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
136 | Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani CSF | 0:02:44 |
137 | Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF | 0:02:45 |
138 | Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:02:51 |
139 | Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
140 | Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
141 | Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
142 | Javier Megias (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
143 | David Lozano (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
144 | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ | 0:02:53 |
145 | Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky | 0:02:54 |
146 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
147 | Max Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb | 0:02:55 |
148 | Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | 0:02:56 |
149 | Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | 0:03:00 |
150 | Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:03:01 |
151 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | Row 150 - Cell 2 |
152 | Iljo Keisse (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:03:05 |
153 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team | 0:03:06 |
154 | Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:03:09 |
155 | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:03:11 |
156 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:03:12 |
157 | Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | 0:03:18 |
158 | Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:03:20 |
159 | Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky | Row 158 - Cell 2 |
160 | Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini | 0:03:30 |
161 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data | 0:03:45 |
162 | Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF | 0:03:59 |
163 | Romain Gioux (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 162 - Cell 2 |
164 | Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:04:00 |
165 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data | Row 164 - Cell 2 |
166 | Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 165 - Cell 2 |
167 | Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott | 0:04:04 |
168 | Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott | Row 167 - Cell 2 |
169 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:04:10 |
170 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:04:12 |
171 | Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 170 - Cell 2 |
172 | Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:04:26 |
173 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:04:28 |
174 | Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | 0:04:55 |
175 | Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:05:02 |
176 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:05:39 |
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