As if it wasn't already hard enough with the lack of visibility,
HTC Columbia made it just plain unfair on their opponents with a dominating performance at the opening Team Time Trial of the
Vuelta. Columbia, who finished all 9 of their men together, tore around the course and secured the red jersey (equivalent to yellow in the
TdF) along with the top 9 overall spots.
Liquigas finished 2
nd and
Saxo Bank brought it home in third. (refer to my preview that I wrote before the stage if you need those 3 clarified) The course itself wasn't very difficult, but many riders struggled with the limited visibility provided by the floodlights amidst the pitch darkness in the first night time stage in the history of the
Vuelta. The visibility wreaked havoc on
Garmin-Transitions, who lost
Julien Dean in a
pre-race incident involving an obstacle that Dean was unable to distinguish. Dean did finish, but far behind his teammates and could not provide them any assistance on the run. Dean was not the only one dropped, as many of the teams lost a rider or two along the way due to the vigorous pace set by the teams.
Cavendish will be wearing red tomorrow after beating the rest of his stage winning teammates to the line for the victory. He also assumes the points lead, and is credited with his first stage of the
Vuelta. He said that stage hunting will still be his goal, and he is not all that concerned with defending his jersey.
He shouldn't have too difficult of a time doing so tomorrow as it looks like the first bunch sprint of the
Vuelta. The climbs you see in the profile are a gradual progression throughout the stage but then it gets completely flat after the descent and this flat should be enough time for the sprinter teams to organize. I wouldn't be surprised to see a breakaway give it a go on the final climb, but I doubt they would succeed.
As if it wasn't already hard enough with the lack of visibility, HTC Columbia made it just plain unfair on their opponents with a dominating performance at the opening Team Time Trial of the Vuelta. Columbia, who finished all 9 of their men together, tore around the course and secured the red jersey (equivalent to yellow in the TdF) along with the top 9 overall spots. Liquigas finished 2nd and Saxo Bank brought it home in third. (refer to my preview that I wrote before the stage if you need those 3 clarified) The course itself wasn't very difficult, but many riders struggled with the limited visibility provided by the floodlights amidst the pitch darkness in the first night time stage in the history of the Vuelta. The visibility wreaked havoc on Garmin-Transitions, who lost Julien Dean in a pre-race incident involving an obstacle that Dean was unable to distinguish. Dean did finish, but far behind his teammates and could not provide them any assistance on the run. Dean was not the only one dropped, as many of the teams lost a rider or two along the way due to the vigorous pace set by the teams. 
Cavendish will be wearing red tomorrow after beating the rest of his stage winning teammates to the line for the victory. He also assumes the points lead, and is credited with his first stage of the Vuelta. He said that stage hunting will still be his goal, and he is not all that concerned with defending his jersey.
He shouldn't have too difficult of a time doing so tomorrow as it looks like the first bunch sprint of the Vuelta. The climbs you see in the profile are a gradual progression throughout the stage but then it gets completely flat after the descent and this flat should be enough time for the sprinter teams to organize. I wouldn't be surprised to see a breakaway give it a go on the final climb, but I doubt they would succeed.
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