It has not been Chris Froome’s week. Arriving in Israel for the start of the Giro d’Italia he would have anticipated an uncomfortable encounter with the world’s media and certain members of the peloton who believe he should not be in the race given his ongoing anti-doping case. But after crashing during a practice ride on the opening day, a frosty reception was not his primary concern. He finds himself not even the top Briton in the standings, falling behind Simon Yates, who is in seventh place and a genuine overall podium contender in many minds.

Froome avoided losing any more ground on his main rivals in a fairly uneventful second stage from Haifa to Tel Aviv and insisted he is still in a strong position to claim a historic third successive Grand Tour victory. The beachfront in Israel’s second biggest city was lined with thousands of boisterous spectators, straining over the barriers with camera phones as the four times Tour de France winner stayed safe in the peloton in a sprint finish.

He is in 20th position overall after losing 37 seconds to his principal rival, Tom Dumoulin, in the time trial on the opening day. It was an understandably below-par performance given the damage done when he crashed from his bike during a reconnaissance ride only hours earlier. Froome was left bruised and bleeding after skidding across the tarmac in Jerusalem but presented a fresher figure at the start of the 167km stage in Haifa.

To panic only one day into a three-week race would be premature, Froome maintained. “Two guys really stood out yesterday, Tom Dumoulin and the BMC rider, Rohan Dennis,” he said. “Otherwise I’d say I’m there or thereabouts with the other general classification guys. It’s still a three-week race and it’s not won in the prologue.

“I’m lucky I didn’t hurt myself any worse than I did and I’m happy I didn’t lose too much time. You always feel bad after a crash but it’s part of our sport. You have to get up and keep going.”

Dennis became the new pink jersey wearer by winning the second intermediate sprint and with it three bonus seconds, with Dumoulin second overall. The stage was won by the Italian Elia Viviani of Quick-Step Floors, who emerged the strongest in a frantic finish, beating Jakub Mareczko.

Yates maintained his overall seventh place after exceeding expectations in the time trial, one of a number of eye-catching performances by the Bury-born rider in recent months. He finished seventh in the Tour de France last year and second in the prestigious Paris-Nice in March, so his capabilities are known but all indications are that a first top-10 finish in a time trial could represent a breakthrough for the 25-year-old, even if he did seek to play down the significance. “I always think I’m a contender so nothing has changed,” Yates said, adding it was “normal” he had so far been eclipsed by Froome in terms of public recognition. “He’s won the Tour de France four times and I’ve won fuck all.”

Elia Viviani crosses the line to win the second stage. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

Yates served a four-month suspension in 2016 after testing positive for the banned substance terbutaline. Froome is still waiting to see if he will be handed a ban after failing a drugs test last September when a urine sample showed twice the permitted level of the asthma drug salbutamol.

Froome’s presence at the Giro given his ongoing fight to rescue his reputation is one of a number of contentious issues creating a powerful undercurrent to this race. The most obvious is the decision to hold the start in Israel, given the complex political landscape and violence on the Gaza Strip, one of the most contested territories in the world. It is the first time the start of the Giro has been held outside Europe in its 101-year history.

While great fanfare accompanied the start in Jerusalem, Amnesty International has issued several strongly worded statements condemning the event. “We’re not going to tell the organisers where they should and shouldn’t start the race,” Kate Allen, its UK director said. “But the Jerusalem launch inevitably means Israel’s dismal human rights record is going to be in the spotlight.

“The authorities in Jerusalem may have thought that the glitz of Giro d’Italia might have a ‘sportswash’ effect, removing some of the stain of Israel’s human rights record. Instead, it’s likely to bring it back into focus yet again.”

But the Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams, whose money played a major part in bringing the Grande Partenze to the country, accused Amnesty of politicising a sporting event.

Adams, a 59-year-old who inherited his property company from his father, a Romanian-born Holocaust survivor, emigrated to Israel two years ago. He said he hoped the event would both encourage more of the population to cycle but also alter the image Israel abroad.

“The media tend to portray Israel in a one-dimensional fashion, always talking about the conflict, and it’s not the Israel I experience on a daily basis where we all largely get along,” he said. “That’s a story which visitors to Israel grasp but remains a bit of a secret to the wider world.”