Image 1 of 32 Omega Pharma-QuickStep power to win stage 1 of Tirreno-Adriatico. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 2 of 32 BMC could only manage 3rd in the Tirreno-Adriatico team time trial. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 3 of 32 Cadel Evans and his BMC teammates in action during the opening team time trial. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 4 of 32 Euskaltel-Euskadi (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 5 of 32 The Astana squad rolls through vineyards during the Tirreno-Adriatico team time trial. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 6 of 32 Andre Greipel and his Lotto Belisol teammates await the start of the team time trial. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 7 of 32 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner Luca Paolini (Katusha) on the start line for the team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 8 of 32 The Cannondale Pro Cycling team rolls off the start ramp. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 9 of 32 A focused Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) awaits the start of the team time trial. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 10 of 32 Omega Pharma-Quick Step team members eye the countdown clock at the start of the team time trial. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 11 of 32 Chris Froome (Sky) is a contender for overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 12 of 32 With the countdown clock at zero, Team Sky begins its team time trial. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 13 of 32 MTN-Qhubeka made history as the first African-based team to compete at a WorldTour event. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 14 of 32 Vacansoleil-DCM in action during the Tirreno-Adriatico team time trial. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 15 of 32 Team NetApp-Endura in action, including Czech time trial champion Jan Barta. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 16 of 32 Cannondale Pro Cycling put in a solid ride to finish fourth. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 17 of 32 Lotto Belisol riders in the wet team trial stage. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 18 of 32 Orica GreenEdge in action. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 19 of 32 Omega Pharma-Quick Step power to victory. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 20 of 32 Tirreno-Adriatico leader Mark Cavendish lets loose with the bubbly. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 21 of 32 Podium shenanigans for team time trial winners Omega Pharma-Quick Step (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 22 of 32 Lampre-Merida would finish in ninth place in the team time trial. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 23 of 32 Party time for Omega Pharma-Quick Step after winning the opening team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 24 of 32 Alex Dowsett and Movistar in action at Tirreno-Adriatico. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 25 of 32 Paolo Tiralongo leads Astana during the Tirreno-Adriatico team time trial. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 26 of 32 Omega Pharma-Quick Step en route to victory in the opening team time trial stage. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 27 of 32 Kisses on the podium for Tirreno-Adriatico leader Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 28 of 32 Mark Cavendish was first across the line for Omega Pharma-Quick Step in the team time trial and earns the first leader's jersey at Tirreno-Adriatico. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 29 of 32 Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) celebrates on the podium after earning the leader's jersey. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 30 of 32 Omega Pharma-Quick Step on the podium after winning the team timet trial at Tirreno-Adriatico. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 31 of 32 Omega Pharma-Quick Step on the podium after winning the team timet trial at Tirreno-Adriatico. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 32 of 32 Jonathan Castroviejo pulls off the front of the Movistar formation so British time trial champion Alex Dowsett can set the pace. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Omega Pharma-Quick Step claimed victory in the opening team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico and put Mark Cavendish into the overall lead with a harmonious collective effort on a rainy afternoon in Tuscany. The Belgian squad made light of the conditions to hurtle around the 16.9km route from San Vincenzo to Donoratico some 11 seconds clear of Movistar and 16 ahead of BMC.

While Cavendish will wear the first maglia azzurra of the race after crossing the line in front, he was quick to acknowledge the role world time trial champion Tony Martin had played in securing the win for a well-oiled Omega Pharma-Quick Step squad. The team averaged 52.286kph to see off Movistar – for whom Alex Dowsett impressed – and a BMC team that included Taylor Phinney and Cadel Evans.

Asked to explain the reason for his team’s success, Cavendish was to the point. “Two words, one name: Tony Martin,” he said, and then joked: “There are no real egos here except maybe me, but it was all about getting eight guys from point A to point B as quickly as possible. When a team time trial works out, it’s the best feeling in cycling.”

Impressive though Martin was, however, Cavendish himself has considerable pedigree in the discipline – he won Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España team time trials with HTC – and Omega Pharma-Quick Step could also count on Michal Kwiatkowski, Zdenek Stybar and Niki Terpstra.

Even though they were down to the bare five riders for the final kilometres, that quintet had the right blend of horsepower and cohesion, and they made light of the greasy conditions to take a convincing win. Three seconds up on the Movistar after 7.9km, Omega Pharma gradually padded their advantage in the finale, to win by 11 seconds.

“I can’t remember if I've done a team time trial in weather like that. Probably not so wet and technical but it was a good day,” Cavendish said. “We trained yesterday on the course in the pissing rain and this morning too. We knew what it was going to be like in the rain. It didn't matter about the weather, the guys wanted to keep practicing and practicing to get it right, and they certainly did. It was nice to be part of it."

Thanks to BMC’s third place, Cadel Evans is the best-placed of the out-and-out pre-race favourites, and while his gains were marginal, Tirreno-Adriatico is a race usually decided by seconds. A Dmitriy Gruzdev crash hindered Astana’s effort, but they still placed 5th at 20 seconds, meaning that Vincenzo Nibali yielded just four seconds to Evans.

Chris Froome and Sky were a lacklustre 7th, 25 seconds down, while Alberto Contador starts the race at a relative disadvantage after his Saxo-Tinkoff squad could only manage 8th at 32 seconds. “The differences are important, we lost 16 seconds with BMC and also lost time to Astana and Sky, who are direct rivals, but we cannot think that this is definitive,” Contador said. “It is true that these races are won or lost by a few seconds, but well, this is just beginning.”

The news was worse for his fellow countryman Joaquim Rodriguez: his Katusha team couldn’t reproduce its surprise showing from last year’s Giro d’Italia team time trial in Verona, and lost 44 seconds. “Honestly we expected a better result,” Rodriguez admitted. “We had a bad start, not taking the first corners at our best. A couple of times our group broke, and we lost two important riders such as Paolini and Kuchynski. Anyway, the most important thing was not to fall during this hard day: we'll see what we can do during the next stages."

Elsewhere, Fabian Cancellara gave yet another exhibition of how having such a powerful individual in your line-up can be a mixed blessing in a team event, as RadioShack Leopard could only place 10th at 36 seconds, with Andy Schleck dropped before the finish. Moreno Moser is considered something of a wildcard for the general classification, and Cannondale did his chances no harm with a workmanlike 4th place, 19 seconds down.

Speaking of dark horses, of course, Tony Martin finds himself in an ideal position before the action gets underway in earnest. The German will struggle to match the likes of Contador, Froome et al on the slopes of Prati di Tivo at the weekend, but with his current buffer and a short time trial on the final day in San Benedetto del Tronto, Martin has ample motivation to limit his losses in the mountains in the days ahead.

Before that, however, the sprinters ought to have their opportunities, with Thursday’s stage to Indicatore expected to see the first clash of the season between the blue jersey Cavendish and his great rival André Greipel (Lotto Belisol).

Full Results 1 Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:19:24 2 Movistar Team 0:00:11 3 BMC Racing Team 0:00:16 4 Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:19 5 Astana Pro Team 0:00:20 6 Orica-GreenEdge 0:00:24 7 Sky Procycling 0:00:25 8 Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:29 9 Lampre-Merida 0:00:35 10 RadioShack Leopard 0:00:36 11 Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:37 12 Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:39 13 Katusha 0:00:44 14 Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:51 15 Lotto Belisol 0:00:54 16 Garmin-Sharp 0:00:57 17 MTN-Qhubeka 0:01:00 18 FDJ 0:01:02 19 Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:04 20 Ag2R La Mondiale 0:01:05 21 Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:06 22 Euskaltel-Euskadi

General classification after stage 1 1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:19:24 2 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 3 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 4 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 5 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 6 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 0:00:11 7 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 8 Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team 9 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 10 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team 11 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team 12 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 13 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:16 14 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 15 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 16 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team 17 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 18 Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:19 19 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling 20 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 21 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 22 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 23 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling 24 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:20 25 Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 26 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 27 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team 28 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 29 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro Team 30 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:00:24 31 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge 32 Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge 33 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 34 Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 35 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 36 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:25 37 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 38 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 39 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Sky Procycling 40 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 41 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling 42 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 43 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:29 44 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 45 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 46 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 47 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 48 Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:32 49 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:35 50 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida 51 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida 52 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 53 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 54 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida 55 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:36 56 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard 57 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard 58 Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard 59 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard 60 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:37 61 Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 62 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 63 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 64 Lars Boom (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 65 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:38 66 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida 67 David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:39 68 Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura 69 Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp-Endura 70 Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp-Endura 71 Paul Voss (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 72 Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha 0:00:44 73 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha 74 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha 75 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 76 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha 77 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha 78 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:51 79 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 80 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 81 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 82 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano 83 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:54 84 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol 85 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol 86 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol 87 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 88 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol 89 Bram Tankink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:57 90 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 91 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp 92 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp 93 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp 94 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp 95 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) MTN-Qhubeka 0:01:00 96 Jacobus Venter (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka 97 Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka 98 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 99 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka 100 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka 101 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ 0:01:02 102 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ 103 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ 104 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 105 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ 106 Laurent Mangel (Fra) FDJ 107 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:04 108 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 109 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 110 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 111 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 112 Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 113 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:05 114 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 115 Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 116 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 117 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 118 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:06 119 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 120 Francesco Failli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 121 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 122 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 123 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 124 Robert Vrecer (Slo) Euskaltel-Euskadi 125 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 126 Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi 127 Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 128 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 129 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 130 José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Team NetApp-Endura 0:01:09 131 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:01:10 132 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:17 133 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:01:22 134 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 135 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Sharp 0:01:26 136 Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:27 137 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard 138 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:34 139 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:35 140 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ 0:01:50 141 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team NetApp-Endura 0:01:54 142 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Team NetApp-Endura 143 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 144 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:02:05 145 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 146 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 147 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:02:10 148 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:02:20 149 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:02:26 150 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:02:27 151 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol 152 Grega Bole (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:02:30 153 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky Procycling 0:02:31 154 Martin Reimer (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 0:02:35 155 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:02:37 156 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:02:38 157 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Garmin-Sharp 0:02:43 158 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Garmin-Sharp 159 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:02:47 160 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:02:48 161 Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 162 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:02:55 163 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 0:02:56 164 Andreas Stauff (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 0:02:57 165 Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:03:07 166 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 167 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:03:10 168 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 169 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard 0:03:11 170 Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:15 171 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 0:03:20 172 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha 173 Steve Chainel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:36 174 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:03:48 175 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff