AMSTERDAM, May 8, 2010 (AFP) – Britain’s three-time Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins got Team Sky’s Grand Tour debut off to the perfect start by winning the first stage of the Tour of Italy on Saturday.
Wiggins, racing at an average speed of almost 49kph, completed the 8.4km against-the-clock circuit in Amsterdam two seconds ahead of American Brent Bookwalter to take the race leader’s pink jersey.
“I was in my own world — that’s how I always do these things,” said Wiggins of his focused approach to the stage.
“I was oblivious to anyone else and just did my own race. It was hard but I just went for it, especially in the corners. If you want to win it, you’ve got to commit 100 percent, like a sprinter when they go for a sprint.”
World champion Cadel Evans of Australia finished third ahead of veteran Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov.
Other candidates for overall victory on the Giro d’Italia, which finishes with an individual time trial in Verona on May 30, lost valuable time on Evans in a stage raced in front of huge crowds.
Italian Ivan Basso was 21sec off the Australian, with Spain’s Carlos Sastre a further 2sec adrift.
On a landmark day for Team Sky, sprinter Greg Henderson also finished in the top 10 while Dario Cioni underlined his good form with a top-20 placing.
“This is an iconic jersey and it means a lot to me. To take it in such style in Amsterdam is even more special,” Wiggins said.
The Briton, who has targeted a top Tour de France performance this summer as the main goal of his season, played down his chances of overall Giro victory, saying: “You never know. I don’t really know what I can do, it’s difficult to say.
“I prefer to take the race a day at a time. I have no idea if I can be in a position (to win) in three weeks.
“In January, we said that the Giro would be the main goal for Dario Cioni,” the Briton said of his Italian team-mate.
“I told him that I’d go for the time trial and will seek to keep the jersey as long as possible. And after, I’ll be there for him.”
Team Sky’s team principal Dave Brailsford hailed Wiggins, calling it an “absolutely brilliant day for us in terms of the whole team”.
“We won the first ever race that we rode (the curtain-raiser to the Tour Down Under in Adelaide) and now the first time we’ve competed in a Grand Tour, we’ve got the jersey. It’s quite a moment in the history and development of the team.”
He added: “Bradley absolutely committed 100 percent and technically he rode it very, very well. It was terrific. I think it was in the corners where he really made the difference and came out a deserved winner.”
There are two more Giro stages in the Netherlands before the race moves to Italy.
RESULTS
1. Bradley Wiggins (GBR/SKY) les 8,4 km en 10:18.
(moyenne: 48,9 km/h)
2. Brent Bookwalter (USA/BMC) à 0:02.
3. Cadel Evans (AUS/BMC) 0:02.
4. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ/AST) 0:05.
5. Greg Henderson (NZL/SKY) 0:05.
6. Richie Porte (AUS/SAX) 0:05.
7. David Millar (GBR/GRM) 0:06.
8. Gustav Erik Larsson (SWE/SAX) 0:07.
9. Jos van Emden (NED/RAB) 0:09.
10. Marco Pinotti (ITA/THR) 0:09.
11. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/LIQ) 0:10.
12. Tom Stamsnijder (NED/RAB) 0:11.
13. Marcel Sieberg (GER/THR) 0:12.
14. Andriy Grivko (UKR/AST) 0:13.
15. Dario Cioni (ITA/SKY) 0:13.
16. Dario Cataldo (ITA/QST) 0:14.
17. Svein Tuft (CAN/GRM) 0:15.
18. Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU/CTT) 0:15.
19. Michael Morkov (DEN/SAX) 0:15.
20. Enrico Gasparotto (ITA/AST) 0:16.
21. Matthias Brandle (AUT/FOT) 0:16.
22. Rick Flens (ESP/RAB) 0:17.
23. Marcel Wyss (SUI/CTT) 0:17.
24. Linus Gerdemann (GER/MRM) 0:17.
25. André Greipel (GER/THR) 0:18.
26. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ/AST) 0:19.
27. William Bonnet (FRA/BTL) 0:20.
28. John Murphy (USA/BMC) 0:20.
29. Vasili Kiryienka (BLR/GCE) 0:20.
30. Stefano Garzelli (ITA/ASA) 0:20.
31. Xavier Tondo (ESP/CTT) 0:21.
32. Pieter Weening (NED/RAB) 0:21.
33. Michele Scarponi (ITA/AND) 0:21.
34. Mauricio Ardila (COL/RAB) 0:22.
35. Vladimir Karpets (RUS/KAT) 0:22.
36. Baden Cooke (AUS/SAX) 0:23.
37. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) 0:23.
38. Danilo Hondo (GER/LAM) 0:23.
39. Maciej Bodnar (POL/LIQ) 0:23.
40. Jan Bakelants (BEL/OLO) 0:24.
41. Steven Kruijswijk (NED/RAB) 0:25.
42. Carlos Sastre (ESP/CTT) 0:25.
43. Roman Kireyev (KAZ/AST) 0:25.
44. Adam Hansen (AUS/THR) 0:26.
45. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 0:26.
46. Bauke Mollema (NED/RAB) 0:26.
47. Tyler Farrar (USA/GRM) 0:26.
48. Michiel Elijzen (/OLO) 0:26.
49. Charles Wegelius (GBR/OLO) 0:26.
50. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (ITA/LIQ) 0:27.
51. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA/LAM) 0:27.
52. Yuri Krivtsov (UKR/ALM) 0:28.
53. Alan Marangoni (ITA/COG) 0:28.
54. Matteo Tosatto (ITA/QST) 0:28.
55. Daniel Moreno (ESP/OLO) 0:28.
56. Thomas Rohregger (AUT/MRM) 0:29.
57. Vladimir Miholjevic (CRO/ASA) 0:29.
58. Sebastian Lang (GER/OLO) 0:30.
59. Matthew Goss (AUS/THR) 0:30.
60. Valerio Agnoli (ITA/LIQ) 0:30.
61. Mauro Santambrogio (ITA/BMC) 0:31.
62. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA/AST) 0:31.
63. Rémi Cusin (FRA/COF) 0:31.
64. Cameron Wurf (AUS/AND) 0:31.
65. Markus Fothen (GER/MRM) 0:32.
66. Filippo Pozzato (ITA/KAT) 0:32.
67. Laurent Didier (LUX/SAX) 0:33.
68. Marco Velo (ITA/QST) 0:33.
69. Steven Cummings (ENG/SKY) 0:33.
70. Michael Barry (CAN/SKY) 0:33.
71. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA/LIQ) 0:34.
72. Edward King (USA/CTT) 0:34.
73. Craig Lewis (USA/THR) 0:34.
74. Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS/KAT) 0:35.
75. Mauro Facci (ITA/QST) 0:35.
76. Daniel Lloyd (ENG/CTT) 0:36.
77. Nicki Sörensen (DEN/SAX) 0:36.
78. Rubens Bertogliati (SUI/AND) 0:36.
79. Alessandro Bertolini (ITA/AND) 0:36.
80. Murilo Fischer (BRA/GRM) 0:37.
81. Robert Förster (GER/MRM) 0:37.
82. Evgueni Petrov (RUS/KAT) 0:37.
83. Francis de Greef (BEL/OLO) 0:38.
84. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA/GCE) 0:39.
85. Francesco Failli (ITA/ASA) 0:39.
86. Fabio Sabatini (ITA/LIQ) 0:39.
87. Daniel Martin (EIR/GRM) 0:39.
88. Luke Roberts (AUS/MRM) 0:39.
89. Dominik Roels (GER/MRM) 0:39.
90. Jeff Louder (USA/BMC) 0:39.
91. Sebastián Haedo (ARG/SAX) 0:40.
92. Daniele Righi (ITA/LAM) 0:40.
93. Josep Jufre (ESP/AST) 0:41.
94. Matthew Hayman (AUS/SKY) 0:41.
95. Matteo Bono (ITA/LAM) 0:41.
96. Thomas Voeckler (FRA/BTL) 0:42.
97. Inigo Cuesta (ESP/CTT) 0:42.
98. Leonardo Duque (COL/COF) 0:43.
99. Cameron Meyer (AUS/GRM) 0:43.
100. Sylvester Szmyd (POL/LIQ) 0:43.
101. Chris Sutton (AUS/SKY) 0:43.
101. Michael Schär (SUI/BMC) 0:43.
103. Pablo Lastras (ESP/GCE) 0:44.
104. Matthias Russ (GER/MRM) 0:45.
105. Sergey Klimov (RUS/KAT) 0:45.
106. Martin Kohler (SUI/BMC) 0:45.
107. John Gadret (FRA/ALM) 0:45.
108. Yukiya Arashiro (JPN/BTL) 0:45.
109. Gorazd Stangelj (SLO/AST) 0:45.
110. Alexander Efimkin (RUS/ALM) 0:45.
111. Morris Possoni (ITA/SKY) 0:46.
112. David Loosli (SUI/LAM) 0:46.
113. Joan Horrach (ESP/KAT) 0:46.
114. Michael Albasini (SUI/THR) 0:46.
115. Julien Fouchard (FRA/COF) 0:46.
116. Rigoberto Uran (COL/GCE) 0:46.
117. Vicente Reynes (ESP/THR) 0:47.
118. Branislav Samoilav (BLR/QST) 0:47.
119. Damien Monier (FRA/COF) 0:47.
120. Stefano Pirazzi (ITA/COG) 0:47.
121. Olivier Kaisen (BEL/OLO) 0:47.
122. José Serpa Perez (COL/AND) 0:47.
123. Guillaume Le Floch (FRA/BTL) 0:47.
124. Eros Capecchi (ITA/FOT) 0:47.
125. Leonardo Bertagnolli (ITA/AND) 0:48.
126. Robert Kierlovski (CRO/LIQ) 0:48.
127. Simone Stortoni (ITA/COG) 0:48.
128..
Francesco Reda (ITA/QST) 0:48.
129. Hubert Dupont (FRA/ALM) 0:48.
130. Graeme Brown (AUS/RAB) 0:49.
131. Frantisek Rabon (CZE/THR) 0:49.
132. Jackson Rodriguez (VEN/AND) 0:49.
133. Wouter Weylandt (BEL/QST) 0:49.
134. Massimo Codol (ITA/ASA) 0:49.
135. Marco Frapporti (ITA/COG) 0:50.
136. Jérôme Pineau (FRA/QST) 0:50.
137. Audrey Amador (CRC/GCE) 0:51.
138. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) 0:51.
139. Ludovic Turpin (FRA/ALM) 0:51.
140. Paul Voss (GER/MRM) 0:52.
141. Gabriel Rasch (NOR/CTT) 0:52.
142. Arnold Jeannesson (FRA/GCE) 0:52.
143. Francesco Masciarelli (ITA/ASA) 0:52.
144. Damiano Cunego (ITA/LAM) 0:52.
145. Iban Mayoz (ESP/FOT) 0:52.
146. Yury Trofimov (RUS/BTL) 0:52.
147. David Moncoutié (FRA/COF) 0:53.
148. Alberto Losada (ESP/GCE) 0:53.
149. Sébastien Hinault (FRA/ALM) 0:53.
150. Julian Dean (NZL/GRM) 0:53.
151. Fabian Wegmann (GER/MRM) 0:54.
152. Anthony Ravard (FRA/ALM) 0:54.
153. Xavier Zandio (ESP/GCE) 0:55.
154. Johann Tschopp (SUI/BTL) 0:55.
155. Michaël Buffaz (FRA/COF) 0:55.
156. Gilberto Simoni (ITA/LAM) 0:56.
157. Addy Engels (NED/QST) 0:57.
158. Damien Gaudin (FRA/BTL) 0:57.
159. Anthony Charteau (FRA/BTL) 0:57.
160. Luca Mazzanti (ITA/KAT) 0:57.
161. David Arroyo (ESP/GCE) 0:58.
162. Carlos Ochoa (VEN/AND) 0:58.
163. Jack Bobridge (AUS/GRM) 0:58.
164. Danilo Wyss (SUI/BMC) 0:58.
165. Alessandro Spezialetti (ITA/LAM) 0:58.
166. René Mandri (EST/ALM) 0:58.
167. Marco Marzano (ITA/LAM) 0:58.
168. Nico Sijmens (BEL/COF) 0:58.
169. Federico Canuti (ITA/COG) 0:59.
170. Guillaume Bonnafond (FRA/ALM) 0:59.
171. Alberto Loddo (ITA/AND) 0:59.
172. Florian Stalder (SUI/BMC) 0:59.
173. Giampaolo Cheula (ITA/FOT) 0:59.
174. Manuel Belletti (ITA/COG) 0:59.
175. Cayetano Sarmiento (COL/ASA) 1:00.
176. Chris Anker Sörensen (DEN/SAX) 1:00.
177. Markus Eibegger (AUT/FOT) 1:00.
178. Alessandro Donati (ITA/ASA) 1:01.
179. Dario Andriotto (ITA/ASA) 1:02.
180. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA/COG) 1:02.
181. Kalle Kriit (EST/COF) 1:05.
182. Adam Blythe (ENG/OLO) 1:08.
183. Volodymir Gustov (UKR/CTT) 1:08.
184. Valentin Iglinskiy (KAZ/AST) 1:11.
185. Alessandro Bisolti (ITA/COG) 1:11.
186. Michele Merlo (ITA/FOT) 1:11.
187. Dmitriy Kozontchuk (RUS/RAB) 1:13.
188. Matthew Lloyd (AUS/OLO) 1:13.
189. Ermanno Capelli (ITA/FOT) 1:16.
190. Giampaolo Caruso (ITA/KAT) 1:17.
191. Sacha Modolo (ITA/COG) 1:18.
192. Mathieu Claude (FRA/BTL) 1:20.
193. Anders Lund (DEN/SAX) 1:20.
194. Andrea Masciarelli (ITA/ASA) 1:22.
195. Marco Corti (ITA/FOT) 1:23.
196. Robbie McEwen (AUS/KAT) 1:30.
197. Martin Pedersen (DEN/FOT) 1:31.
198. Guillaume Blot (FRA/COF) 1:32.
