Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge) went all out on the flat and fast Tour de Slovénie stage one time trial course, and the result was a six-second victory over Orica-GreenEdge team-mate Brett Lancaster.
Artem Ovechkin (RusVelo) was third, at eight seconds back.
Orica-GreenEdge is one of two WorldTour teams in the 2.1s stage race, and the Australian squad dominated the standings in stage one. Sebastian Langeveld was fourth, and Michael Hepburn was sixth, the two Orica-GreenEdge riders split by former Italian time trial champion Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida).
The fast 8.8km time trial around the capital of Ljubljana is the traditional start to the Slovenian stage race, now beginning its 20th edition. Tuft averaged over 53km per hour in his winning ride, stopping the clock in 9’55”.
“Everything went right today. I had good sensations from the start. I knew I was on a good ride,” Tuft stated.
“The capital city of Ljubljana is beautiful,” he lauded. “This was a nice course for going flat out. There wasn’t anything tricky about it. The roads were in good condition and it was nice not to race in the rain. I went as hard as I could and hoped to hang on all the way to the finish. It was about not leaving anything in the tank.”
“The course suited us very well,” said Orica-GreenEdge director Matt Wilson. “Heppy, Brett, Svein and Sebastian are all specialists in this sort of event, and they all did great rides.”
The Tour de Slovénie concludes with three road stages and some selective climbing. Janez Brajkovic (Astana) was the champion a year ago in a ding-dong battle with Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r La Mondiale), and Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) won in 2011. None are racing this year, so the general classification seems to be wide open. Although Wilson seems assured that his squad will not be contesting it.
“We don’t have a chance here for the overall,” Wilson stated honestly. “We didn’t bring any guys who can contend with the big mountains. We don’t expect to have the jersey on the last day, but we’re happy to have it tomorrow.”
Martinez takes Route du Sud stage one:
Yannick Martinez (La Pomme Marseille) triumphed in the bunch kick in stage one of the Route du Sud, outkicking Anthony Roux (FDJ) and Adrien Petit (Cofidis). The 209km stage from Castres to Mirande was dominated by the breakaway of Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli), Romain Hardy (Cofidis), and Thomas Rostollan (La Pomme Marseille), who had a maximum lead of eight minutes at one point.
Europcar and Ag2r La Mondiale worked to bring them back, but it was Martinez who came through in the sprint. The win is the second this season for the 25-year-old, as he also took stage five of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque in early May.
Martinez takes the overall lead into stage two, a 182km jaunt which begins and ends in Villecomtal-sur-Arros.
Route du Sud Stage 1 – Castres – Mirande (209km) Brief Results:
1, Yannick Martinez (La Pomme Marseille)
2, Anthony Roux (FDJ)
3, Adrien Petit (Cofidis)
4, Danilo Napolitano (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
5, Chris Sutton (Sky Procycling)
6, Laurent Pichon (FDJ)
7, Benjamin Firaud (La Pomme Marseille)
8, Steven Tronet (BigMat-Auber 93)
9, Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r La Mondiale)
10, Christophe Laborie (Sojasun)
11, Jean-Luc Delpech (Bretagne-Séché Environnement)
12, Stéphane Poulhies (Cofidis)
13, Francisco Ventoso (Movistar)
14, Yohann Gene (Europcar)
15, Manuel Cardoso (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)