Thirteen second beating of Russian National Team puts Judith Arndt into first pink jersey
HTC-Highroad was the convincing winner of the opening team time trial of the Giro della Toscana in the Tyrrhenian seaside towm of Viareggio. The US-registered team of Ally Stacher, Judith Arndt, Amanda Miller, Chloe Hosking, Katie Colclough, Ina Teuteberg and Charlotte Becker completed the flat, out-and-back circuit in 6’27”, at an average speed of more than 50kph, with German champion Arndt crossing the line first to take the first pink jersey of the race.
The Russia National Team finished in a surprise second place, just 13 second behind HTC-Highroad, with Gauss-RDZ-Ormu just 24 seconds behind in third.
"It was a flat circuit today," said HTC-Highroad sport director Ronny Lauke, "A very simple course that came down to setting as strong of a pace as we could and maintaining it until the end."
"Our plan was to accelerate hard at the start and keep pace steady,” he explained. “We had Judith, Ina and Charlotte pulling on the long stretches and our younger riders leading out the short sections."
The Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo team was the first team to start, completing the course in 6’54”. This was immediately beaten by the Russian team, which was the second team off, setting a time of 6’40”, which would have put 2006 race winner Svetlana Bubnenkova into the race lead.
As defending champion, Arndt’s HTC-Highroad team was the last to start though, beating the Russian time by 13 seconds and start the German’s race defence in perfect fashion.
The next stage will consist of a 117.1km route between Porcari and Altopascio; with an entirely flat final 60km, the stage should be relatively simple for Arndt’s team to control, making Teutenberg the big favourite in a likely sprint victory.
"We have been on a bit of a winning streak over the past ten days,” said Lauke, referring to the team’s five stage victories in the recent Tour de l’Ardeche through Emilia Fahlin and Evelyn Stevens, “and we plan to keep the momentum here in Tuscany."
Result stage 1
1. HTC-Highroad, 5.4km in 6’27”
2. Russian National Team @ 13s
3. Gauss-RDZ-Ormu @ 24s
4. MCipollini-Giambenini
5. Australian National Team @ 25s
6. Garmin-Cervélo @ 27s
7. Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo
8. Lotto Honda Team @ 28s
9. Diadora-Pasta Zara @ 29s
10. United States National Team
11. Colavita-Forno d'Asolo @ 33s
12. Michela Fanini-Record-Rox @ 34s
13. German National Team @ 35s
14. Vaiano Solaristech-TEpso @ 36s
15. Slovenian National Team @ 39s
16. Dolmans Landscaping Team
17. Kleo Ladies Team @ 42s
18. Ukrainian National Team
19. Kuota Speed Kueens @ 46s
20. Lointek @ 54s
21. Team Fanini Store @ 1’05”
Standings after stage 1
1. Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC Highroad Women
2. Ina Teutenberg (Ger) HTC Highroad Women
3. Amanda Miller (USA) HTC Highroad Women
4. Chloe Hosking (Aus) HTC Highroad Women
5. Katie Colclough (GBr) HTC Highroad Women
6. Charlotte Becker (Ger) HTC Highroad Women @ 3s
7. Svetlana Bubnenkova (Rus) Russian National Team @ 13s
8. Irina Molicheva (Rus) Russian National Team
9. Natalia Boyarskaya (Rus) Russian National Team
10. Evgeniya Romanyuta (Rus) Russian National Team