Mitchelton-Scott victorious in Team Time Trial at Tirreno-Adriatico
Mar 14 2019 12:20 am CET
Photo of Mitchelton-Scott jersey (c) Jonathan Roorda / CyclingPub.com
Mitchelton-Scott has won the opening Team Time Trial of Tirreno-Adriatico. The Australian formation set the best time ahead of Jumbo-Visma, with Michael Hepburn taking the leader's jersey.
Lido di Camaiore was the setting of the Italian WorldTour race. The team faced a flat course of 21.5 kilometers, ideal for true team time trial specialists.
Dutch outfit Jumbo-Visma seemed determined to give Primoz Roglic a perfect start to what they hope will be his second stage race win of the season, after having clinched the overall victory at the UAE Tour earlier this month.
Led by Jos van Emden, the team's final time was a solid 15 seconds better than Tom Dumoulin's Sunweb, with Deceuninck-Quick Step needing another 15 seconds to complete the course.
But the leader's jersey was not to be in Van Emden's hands at the end of the day as Mitchelton-Scott ended up being seven seconds faster than Jumbo-Visma and as such secured the win. Track specialist Hepburn was first to cross the line and takes the lead in the general classification.
For team leader Adam Yates, this is a perfect start that gives him an advantage of 47 seconds over Team Sky's Geraint Thomas and Wout Poels and a 1'10" lead over Bahrain-Merida leader Vincenzo Nibali.
The race will remain in Camaiore for Thursday's stage, offering a 195km course with several climbs finishing in the town of Pomarance.
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEEDS