Team Argos-Shimano 14th in opening team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico
Omega Pharma – Quick-Step set the fastest time in the opening team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico, ahead of Movistar and BMC Racing Team. Mark Cavendish has the honor of wearing the leader’s jersey in the first stage tomorrow.
Team Argos-Shimano started as the second-to-last team at 15:45. It was a wet circuit. Orica-GreenEdge, the winner of last year’s team time trial, set an early best time. Shortly after Orica-GreenEdge finished, Movistar was even quicker around the circuit. For a moment Movistar dreamed of another win to repeat the team’s victory in the 2012 Vuelta, but it was Omega Pharma – Quick-Step in the end that outpaced all the other teams.
Team Argos-Shimano came in 14th, at 51 seconds slower than the winners. “It was a hard time trial for the team today,” said sports director Marc Reef. “After 5km Koen de Kort and Albert Timmer were dropped, and after a few more kilometers Ramon Sinkeldam was dropped as well. I think everyone did as much as they could, so that’s OK. We will see how it goes in the coming days.”
Results
1. Omega Pharma-Quick Step (BEL) 00:19:42
2. Movistar Team (Spanje) 0:00:11
3. BMC Racing (Verenigde Staten) 0:00:16
4. Cannondale Pro Cycling (Italië) 0:00:18
5. Astana Team (Kazachstan) 0:00:20
14. Team Argos-Shimano (NED) 0:00:51
