Vuelta a Espana: Team Sky win team time trial

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Team Sky claimed the opening stage of the 2016 Vuelta a Espana with victory in the 27.8 kilometre time trial. The British team clocked 30:37 to edge out Movistar by less than half a second. Peter Kennaugh led Chris Froome and his teammates over the line and will wear the first leader’s jersey of the race on stage 2.

Orica-BikeExchange had led the stage and looked set to win but were forced to settle for third, six seconds off the wining time.

Alberto Contador’s Tinkoff team looked in contention for a top five place at the first time check but suffered in the second half of the race and conceded a telling 52 seconds at the line.

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The win marked Kennaugh first appearance in the leader’s jersey of a Grand Tour and comes after he missed the Tour de France through injury and ruled himself out of contention for the Olympic Games due to a lack of form.

Both Team Sky and Movistar were evenly matched throughout the testing course with the Spanish team 8 seconds off Froome’s squad at the first check at 9.4 kilometres. The gap dropped to 6 seconds at 18.2 kilometres before Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana’s team set the provisionally fastest time at the finish, nudging out Orica in the process.

When Team Sky came to the finish they were on the rivet with Kennaugh driving for the line but Chris Froome momentarily cut adrift from the remaining five riders. The Tour de France winner made it back, just, with the win secured and the race lead guaranteed when Contador’s men limped home.

How it unfolded

The third Grand Tour of this campaign started in tranquil conditions as the sun set over Balneario Laias. Bora Argon were the first team to start and they duly set about posting respectable times at all of the intermediate time checks. The same could not be said of Giant-Alepcin, AG2R La Mondiale or Lampre Merida, with all three teams off the pace even after just 9.4 kilometres of racing.

Astana, coming into the race with Miguel Angel Lopez as their leader were forced to wait when the rider slipped his chain but they recovered well, finishing behind Bora by just one second at the finish.

Former world champions in this discipline, Etixx QuickStep soon pushed the German team into second but back down the course Orica BikeExchange and BMC Racing were locked in a close dual.

The two teams were locked on the same time at the first check before BMC nudged ahead by 6 seconds at the 18.2 kilometre time check.

Sky, meanwhile, were pacing their effort well, doing just enough to keep the two leading teams within a few seconds.

When Orica clocked a time of 30:43 they looked to be the squad with BMC unable to push them off the top spot.

However Movistar and Team Sky were still to finish. Both teams came into the race with serious ambitions of winning the overall but Sky, and Kennaugh, drew first blood.

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