World time trial champion Tony Martin has ‘christened’ his rainbow jersey in fine fashion by winning the opening stage of the Tour of Beijing. The German HTC Highroad rider scorched along the 11.3 kilometre distance between Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium and Water Cube, posting a time of 13 minutes 33 seconds and opening a clear lead in the general classification.
His effort was quicker than the early best of Alex Dowsett (Sky Procycling), which was good enough for third, and Garmin-Cervélo’s David Millar, who nabbed second.
Martin ended up 17 seconds quicker than the Scot, with Dowsett a further seven seconds back. Vuelt a España runner-up Chris Froome (Sky Procycling) was almost equal to the latter’s time, taking just two seconds more to cover the smoggy, spectator-deserted course, while his team-mate Steve Cummings carried over his good Tour of Britain form to net fifth.
“It is my first time ever in China and it is a big honour to win the first ever stage in the Tour of Beijing,” Martin said afterwards. “I decided a long time before (I won the world championship) to come here. I wanted to be one time in China. For me it is not about the victory, it’s about being here for this nice race.”
His dominant victory came despite being without his usual time trial machine. Like the other riders in the race, the German was required to use a modified road bike in the test. He said that this presented challenges to him and other riders.
“It is a different position and a different feeling. The time trial bike is also more stiff. But I was just trying to find a good way over a short distance,” he said.
The victory puts Martin in a strong position as regards the overall battle. While four more stages remain, the nature of the parcours suggests a strong team could control things between now and Sunday. He said that HTC Highroad will do what it can to ensure that happens.
“I have a lot of motivation for a good race and we will now try to defend the jersey. “I hope tomorrow is not too hard. I should be okay…I think it is more for the sprinters.”
His rivals will aim to foil this, though, and with Millar backed by a very solid Garmin-Cervélo team plus three Sky Procycling riders within 35 seconds of the jersey, there could be some good racing ahead.
Off early on, Dowsett led for much of the race until Millar and then Martin bumped him down the leaderboard near the end. He said that he was pleased with how things turned out, and that his team didn’t accept that the race could be decided by the prologue. “Coming third to Tony Martin and David Millar is a pretty good result and I can be proud of that,” he stated, also being happy to get the best young rider’s jersey.
“We will now sit down tonight and talk about it. We have three riders in the top five and obviously no other team has that. We will take it on and see what we can do.”
The other riders who remain in contention will do likewise. Martin has seized his opportunity to open a lead, but his rivals will seek to exploit any chances they get.
Third stage likely to be race's big battleground:
Looking forward, it seems likely that many of the stages could end in big sprints, thus favouring Martin’s chances. Tomorrow’s second stage covers 137 kilometres to Men Tou Gou. It’s mainly flat although it has a short, steep third category hill 14.5 kilometres from the finish, and a slightly uphill finish. Despite that, the race’s sprinters are expected to prevail.
Day three looks more promising for those who want to take the fight to Martin. Early on, the riders will scale the category two Dong Fang and the first category Gao Quin ascents; after 50 kilometres of flat roads, the riders will tackle the first category climbs of Xeizishi and Erpuliang. These are just 15 kilometres apart and will have a major effect, although with twelve mainly downhill kilometres to the finish, there could be some sort of regrouping.
At 189.5 kilometres, day four between Yan Qing Gui Chuan Square and Shunyi Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre is the longest of the race. It could suit a breakaway and includes one second category climb plus two third category ascents in the second half of the day, although with over 40 kilometres of flat or downhill roads, a bunch sprint appears the most likely outcome.
Ditto for the final stage from Tian An Men Square in central Beijing to Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium. This is pan flat and the bulk of its 118 kilometre distance includes 13 laps of an eight kilometre finishing circuit. Unless the time gaps are very tight, whomever is wearing the jersey starting the stage can feel confident about their chances.