Tour of Denmark: DSM-Firmenich PostNL win stage 1 team time trial
Tobias Lund Andresen takes inaugural race lead as Dutch squad edges out UAE Team Emirates by fractions of a second

DSM-Firmenich PostNL won the opening team time trial at the Tour of Denmark by the narrowest of margins, edging out UAE Team Emirates by less than half a second on the 13.7km course in Holstebro.
The Dutch squad were the first team down the start ramp on Wednesday afternoon, setting a time of 14:30.50 at the finish line as Tobias Lund Andresen led them home. They'd sit in the hot seat for an hour before UAE started their effort.
At the mid-stage checkpoint, 7km in, UAE posted a time six seconds off the pace, but the group sped up in the second half, driving to the line almost neck-and-neck with DSM.
Ivo Oliveira led UAE across the line, but his effort fell fractions of a second short of taking the stage win. As a result, Lund takes the first leader's jersey of the race after a TTT that handed all riders separate finishing times. That means his DSM teammates Johan Dorussen and Frank van den Broeck lie second and fourth overall, while Oliveira fills third place. Finn Fisher-Black is in fifth overall.
"It was a really nice day today," Lund Andresen said later. "We had a chance to do some laps before the race and to make a good plan.
"I think we executed this perfectly with the turns. We lost a couple of guys on the way but we also planned that if we only gave four left then we push on after halfway.
"It's really nice to get my home race started like this and nice to have the yellow jersey. Now we can look forward to the rest of the stages."
Lotto-Dstny – featuring Arnaud De Lie and Florian Vermeersch – were the third-quickest team on the day, recording a time of 14:33.10, less than three seconds off the winners. Meanwhile, the Danish national squad took fourth with a time of 14:35.40 and Danish Continental team ColoQuick took fifth with a time of 14:36.60.
With six teams – Magnus Cort led Uno-X Mobility home at seven seconds down – finishing within 10 seconds of the winners, the top of the general classification is very close heading into the hilly 231km second stage to Vejle.
18 riders lie within 10 seconds of Lund Andresen, with De Lie and Cort among them. Both are threats to take over the race lead on Thursday. The pair look ideally placed to battle for the win on the closing circuits in Vejle, which features a 400-metre, 9% ramp to the finish line.
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. She has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel, and her favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
Season highlights from 2024 include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.
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