Jumbo-Visma win UAE Tour TTT

Jumbo-Visma won the opening 16km team time trial at the UAE Tour, with Primoz Roglic bringing the team home and so taking the first leader's red jersey of the new WorldTour race.

Jumbo-Visma set a time of 16:49 for the exposed but fast course in Abu Dhabi, racing at 57km/h thanks to huge turns by Tony Martin, Jos van Emden and Roglic.

Team Sunweb were seven seconds slower in 16:56, while Bahrain-Merida set a time of 16:58 thanks to the contribution of world time trial champion Rohan Dennis.

The exposed 16km course overlooking the Abu Dhabi skyline sparked some significant time difference amongst the overall contenders. Just like in a Grand Tour, seconds gained or lost in the team time trial will influence the mountain stages and fight for the red jersey.

Tom Dumoulin is only seven seconds behind Roglic, with Vincenzo Nibali well placed at nine seconds. Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) is at 14 seconds and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is at 18 seconds.

The fight for overall victory is more complicated for others. Tejay van Garderen is 26 down on his debut with EF Education First, Dan Martin and his UAE Team Emirates squad lost 36 seconds, while Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) start the road stages with a handicap of 43 seconds.

57km/h average speed

The teams started at five-minute intervals under a warm sun and facing a slight breeze across the exposed terrain. Most riders had opted for 58 chainrings up front, expecting high speeds and the averages soon began to touch 55km/h, with higher speeds on the tailwind sections.

EF Education First held the fastest time for a while with 17:15 but then Bahrain-Merida finished fast, stopping the clock in 16:58. They were the first under the 17-minute barrier and have clearly been working hard on their time trial equipment and training.

Bahrain-Merida were happy with their ride but had little time to celebrate. Jumbo-Visma had been seven seconds faster at the intermediate time check and finished faster, stopping the clock in 16:49.

Their average speed was 57.086km/h – one of the highest averages ever recorded for a TTT. Race data showed that Roglic covered the final five kilometres at an average speed of 64km/h.

Other teams failed to get close to Jumbo-Visma and finished beyond the 17-minute mark. Team Sunweb were their biggest threat and Dumoulin helped drive the red train along on their new disc-brake Cervelo bikes. Dumoulin and his teammates spread across the road as they hit the line but they had lost some speed in the final kilometres and set a time of 16:56, seven seconds slower than Jumbo-Visma.

The riders in yellow and black hugged and celebrated with their staff, knowing their own hard work and performance had paid. Roglic took the leader’s jersey, with Laurens De Plus pulling on the best young rider’s white jersey.

"We are very happy to start the season this way. We have a good team here with very strong time triallists, but that is no guarantee to perform well. You also have to show it in the race and that's what we did,” Roglic said.

"It was a fast team time trial and it went very well. I came first through the last corner and then pulled a sprint.”

Monday's 184km second stage is one for the sprinters and finishes at the Abu Dhabi Marina. But Jumbo-Visma promised to defend their race lead.

"It's nice to have the leader's jersey and we certainly have ambitions to win this race. There are still some tough stages coming up, so we take it day by day. But we have an excellent start," Roglic said.

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