Tirreno-Adriatico: Where the favourites stand after the opening time trial

Tirreno-Adriatico began with an individual time trial hugging the Tyrrhenian coast and, despite only being 10km, and completely pan-flat, it still had room for surprises, with several GC riders separated by well over a minute.

With seven stages to go, the overall classification has already taken shape, with several contenders well-positioned, and many others left with ground to make up.

In the race for the stage, Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) dashed Filippo Ganna’s hopes of a third consecutive win, pipping him to first place by just one second. Ganna’s Italian compatriot Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) also put in an impressive performance to round out the podium.

Aside from Ayuso, who will wear the leader's maglia azzurra into tomorrow’s stage, it was a mixed day for a stacked field of GC favourites. Unfriendly weather conditions played their part as the heavens opened sooner than forecast, surprising those – including pre-race favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) – who decided to start early to avoid a ride in the rain.

Read more: Juan Ayuso stuns Filippo Ganna in opening time trial

Winners

Juan Ayuso was the big winner today, taking his third WorldTour time trial victory in style and finishing 22 seconds up on nearest GC rival Vingegaard. Winning margins are often small at Tirreno-Adriatico so the Spaniard couldn’t have hoped for much better on day one.

He set off around an hour after Vingegaard, by which point the rain had stopped and the course had dried out. He unseated Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X) from the finish line hot seat by 15 seconds and remained there for the rest of an anxious afternoon, with the last rider setting off over two hours later.

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Juan Ayuso had a storming ride

Former Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) was among the last to start and he put in one of the day’s best performances. He was only eight seconds down at the intermediate split but lost time in the headwind back down the straight, crossing the line in 12th place, only 24 seconds down on Ayuso and two down on Vingegaard. Hindley will spend much of this year racing in the services of Primož Roglič, so Tirreno-Adriatico is as good a chance as any to race for himself.

Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) was another who minimised time shipped in a discipline he’s not especially fancied in, rolling over the line 30 seconds down on the race leader despite racing in the early inclement weather.

British rider Max Poole put in a strong ride to finish 13th, just a second off Hindley, leaving him well placed to challenge for the top 10.

About as good as we were expecting

Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard stunned the world with that time trial on stage 16 last year, and, given his pedigree, ninth place here was perhaps disappointing. His decision to get the time trial out of the way early backfired and, while he still made the top 10, losing 22 seconds to Ayuso will not have been part of the plan.

He’d also have expected to perform better than the likes of Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), who hasn’t made a name for himself against the clock, but bested Vingegaard by four seconds.

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Tao Geoghegan Hart was among those who put in a middling ride

A few others lost time but not enough for major cause for concern. Tom Pidcock came in 33rd, losing the same number of seconds, but will be eyeing up the punchy middle stages of the seven-day race to make up that time. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) also put in a solid performance, only 35 seconds down on Ayuso. Movistar contender Enric Mas lost 38 seconds, coming in 43rd.

Julian Alaphilippe, meanwhile, stayed upright, crossing the line 43 seconds behind the maglia azzurra, in an improvement on a torrid start to his season.

Ground to make up

Dani Martinez was tipped to do better but got caught out by the weather, losing 27 seconds. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) lost a significant and possibly decisive chunk of time as he crossed the line in 125th, 1 minute and 6 seconds down on the race leader.

Guillaume Martin had a day to forget, having been a consistent Tour de France top 10 finisher, but rolled over the line in 146th place having lost a minute and 20 seconds.

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It wasn't a good TT for new Visma signing Cian Uijtdebroeks, nor the team's new Giro helmet

Whether Visma-Lease a Bike consider today a successful trial of their wacky new helmets remains to be seen. They certainly made more of a splash revealing them than actually on the course, and the rider with the most ground to make up is new signing Cian Uijtdebroeks.

Even the fancy helmet couldn’t help him as he finished 129th, second-worst of the GC possibilities. Having left Bora-Hansgrohe in part because of their lack of time trial tech, it will likely sting even more.