Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing) pulled on the very first maglia rosa of the 2012 Giro d’Italia after taking victory in the opening 8.7km time trial in the Danish town of Herning. The 21-year-old American flew around the flat course in a time of 10’26’, in an average speed of 50.031kph, to go nine seconds faster than Geraint Thomas, who had finished less than two minutes before him.
Thomas himself had beaten the time of Manuele Boaro (Saxo Bank) - who had finished less than a minute before him - by six seconds, to take the provisional lead. Boaro - riding for a Danish team - was knocked off the stage podium by a Danish rider, as Alex Rasmussen (Garmin-Barracuda) crossed the line in 10’39” to go into third.
“I've been thinking about this for a really long time, this jersey and this win,” said Phinney in the post-race press conference. “I knew warming up today I felt really good and I've done a lot to prepare for it.
“I have to thank the team for supporting me and putting me on the perfect trajectory to get to this race,” he added. “Especially [BMC Racing assistant directeur] Max Sciandri, who lives near me [in Italy].”
Although Phinney had ridden the course “about ten times” in the days leading up to the race, the American felt that his final reconnaissance on the morning before was key to his success.
“It was important to get on the course today because of the way they set up the barriers," he explained. “It was a little bit different than the way they were the other days.”
Although the following stages would be filled with potential hazards, having taken the jersey - becoming only the third American to do so - Phinney had no intention of giving it up without a fight.
“We'll take it day-by-day,” he said. “But I'd like to keep it until at least the [stage four] team time trial in Verona. To be able to sport it in Italy would be pretty special.”
The stage was led by Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Barracuda) for more than two hours, after the Lithuanian - who was the 35th rider to start - set a time of 10’48”, which stood up to all challengers. It was not until Boaro finished, as rider number 179, that Navardauskas was knocked off the top; the Italian was usurped by Thomas - the very next rider - but the Welshman was in the hot seat himself for less than two minutes, as Phinney went faster still.
Of the overall contenders for the race, Roman Kreuziger (Astana) was fastest, with a time of 11’02”. This was just three seconds better than two-time winner Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale), in 11’05”, and seven better than Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha), in 11’09”.
Last minute inclusion Fränk Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) could only manage 11’25”; while Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD), starting last and wearing the maglia rosa of defending champion, finished in 11’32”.
A dry, windy Danish day to get the Corsa Rosa under way
The urban course was almost completely flat, but seven corners in total, and a stiff headwind in the final kilometres made it a tough undertaking however. Thankfully, the rain that has blighted prologues at Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie so far this season, held off, and the only reported crashes were those of over-excited Danish rider Mads Christensen (Saxo Bank), who came off on the very first corner, and BMC Racing's Ivan Santaromita, who fell later on.
Jackson Rodriguez (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) was the first rider to start, getting the 2012 Giro d’Italia under way, but the Venezuelan’s time of 11’58” was never going to be at the top of the leader board for long. He was beaten by every rider that followed, but it was 13th man off, Robbie Hunter (Garmin-Barracuda), who set a time of 10’54” - the first rider to go below eleven minutes - that posted the first credible time.
With such a time trialling pedigree, it was no surprise that it would be another Garmin-Barracuda rider that pushed Hunter off the top, as Navardauskas went six seconds quicker, in 10’48”. Despite being fastest at the intermediate timing point after 4.5km, short distance specialist Jesse Sergent (RadioShack-Nissan) finished four seconds slower than the Lithuanian, to go into second place with 10’52”; then another Garmin-Barracuda rider, in the shape of Jack Bauer, matched Hunter’s time to go into fourth.
Roman Kreuziger (Astana), was the first of the overall favourites to ride, and started in 75th place, posted his overall intentions with an impressive 11’02”. The Czech was just 14 seconds slower than Navardauskas, and laid down a stiff challenge to his rivals.
Brett Lancaster (Orica-GreenEdge) was even faster than Sergent at halfway, then caught and passed Andrey Zeits (Astana) for a minute with a kilometres still to go; the Australian flew into the finishing straight, but could only watch as the clock ticked over to 10’49” as he crossed the line, heading the list of southern hemisphere riders lined up behind the Lithuanian leader.
Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan), one of the better time trialling sprinters, matched Hunter at halfway, then entered the final kilometre looking as though he was about to post a fast time. The Italian stopped the clock in 11’15” however, but gave himself a chance of taking the pink jersey in the first few sprinters’ stages.
The sprinters start their battle early as an Italian goes close
He would have to get past World champion Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) however, as the Manxman - dressed in the team’s black and blue skinsuit - went two seconds faster with 11’13”.
Marco Pinotti (BMC Racing) wore the first maglia rosa of the 2011 race, as he had been the first member of the victorious HTC-Highroad team to cross the line in the opening team time trial. He too had been fast at the halfway point, matching Hunter and Bennati, and the former Italian champion had managed to maintain his pace in the second half. Like Lancaster however, he was forced to watch Navardauskas time tick by as he hit the line; crossing it in 10’50”, agonisingly two seconds short to go into provisional third.
Shortly afterwards, Ryder Hesjedal became yet another Garmin-Barracuda rider to enter the provisional top ten; the Canadian’s time of 10’55” put him into eighth place.
Possibly overcome with the excitement of the Giro starting in his home country, Danish rider Mads Christensen - riding for Danish team Saxo Bank - crashed on the very first corner of the course. The 28-year-old was up quickly, and finished the course, but was a minute down at the halfway point - the slowest time so far; he crossed the line in 11’56” however, only having lost a further eight seconds in the second part of the course.
The next overall contender to finish was 2004 winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD); the 30-year-old was on his usual poor time trialling form, and stopped the clock in 11’29”, putting him 27 seconds behind Kreuziger at such an early stage. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda) meanwhile, put himself at the top of the sprinters’ tree with a time of 11’02”, to go eleven seconds faster than Cavendish.
Boaro suddenly posted the best time at halfway, fractions of a second faster than Lancaster, but the Italian still had the second half of the course to complete before he could deliver a win for the home team. His place was immediately beaten by Tour de Romandie prologue winner Thomas though, who went one second faster still.
You wait two hours for a faster time and then three turn up at once!
Boaro had managed to hold his pace into the second half of the course, and sprinted down the finishing straight to stop the clock in 10’41”, knocking seven seconds off the time of Navardauskas, and going into the provisional pink jersey. Thomas was not far behind however, and was putting his team pursuit World record breaking power to use.
The Welshman smashed a further six seconds off the time of Boaro, stopping the clock in 10’35”. Having stood for more than two hours, Navardauskas’ time had been broken twice in the space of two minutes, and been lowered by 13 seconds.
The race was anything but decided however, as Phinney, who’d been just one second slower than Thomas at half way, was approaching the finish. The American prodigy blasted across the line in 10’26”, knocking an incredible nine seconds off Thomas’ time, to go into the lead.
Swedish time trial champion Gustav Larsson (Vacansoleil-DCM) became the fourth rider to go faster than Navardauskas, but only just. The Paris-Nice prologue winner stopped the clock in 10’48”, just fractions of a second faster than the Lithuanian, to push the long-time leader down to fifth.
Rasmussen was the last rider on the course to have a chance of beating Phinney’s time, and the Danish rider most likely to take a home win. Having been five seconds slower than Thomas’ best at the halfway point however, he could only manage third behind the Welshman; his time of 10’39” 13 seconds slower than Phinney.
Rodríguez impressed with a time of 11’09” in a discipline that has often cost him high placings in the past. Fränk Schleck, who only found out he was riding the race just over a week before the start, was never going to challenge the top ten, but his time of 11’25” kept him in contention. Basso’s time of 11’05” though, was surely much better than the two-time winner could have hoped for, and kept him up there with Kreuziger as the best of the overall contenders.
Scarponi, wearing a pink skinsuit as the defending champion, was the last to leave the start house, but his time of 11’32” put the 32-year-old on the defensive from the very start.