Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) finished the stage 1 minute and 27 seconds down on the main group after crosswinds did damage as the riders headed for Zelande along the coast.
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Meanwhile, Dutchman Lars Boom started the Tour despite showing low levels of cortisol in a test on the eve of the race.
The 102nd edition of the Tour de France began in a blazing inferno.
Victor: Australian rider Rohan Dennis clinched his first Tour stage win in style, setting a record speed for a Tour time trial.
It seems that Tour karma evened the score Sunday.
“Between the rain and the crashes, we had a bit of bad luck”. “Not coming in as defending champion I’ve got everything to race for this year”, said Froome, who won traditional Tour warm-up the Criterium du Dauphine last month. A squall was driving right down on the peloton, and the favorites were fighting for their yellow-jersey lives.
“But it’s a three-week race and things do change on a daily basis”. I was close to crashing, too.
“I have just watched it back on the video and the guys behind played it ideal”.
“We’re ahead today but there’s lots in store for us for the rest of the week”. Etixx put six riders into the front group, but came away empty-handed on the stage.
Both Quintana’s Movistar team and the Astana outfit of Nibali chased hard but the front group was pushed on by Etixx-QuickStep, trying to set up sprinter Mark Cavendish for the stage win.
Germany’s Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) was second quickest, five seconds behind, with Swiss Fabian Cancellara, one of the favourites, a second further adrift. “It wasn’t a nice TT (time trial) at all”, Thomas said. It was so hot, said Fabian Cancellara, that his tongue felt like sandpaper as he rode the short, sharp 13.8 kilometre individual time trial around Utrecht.
“The disappointment is very big”, Martin said.
“I’ve broken a dry spell of wins and what a way to do it”, said a delighted Dennis. “I had to find the energy to do the sprint; I had no energy left from yesterday”.
“I didn’t know where to go” at the end, Cancellara told ITV Sport. Victoria’s Ryder Hesjedal was 132nd. But he might have expected to have been first across the line.
His hopes of adding to his tally improved when Marcel Kittel, whose win in Harrogate was one of eight stage successes in the last two years, was not selected by Giant-Alpecin following an illness-plagued season. Andrew crashed, and Dan was hooked up in his bike, and that was that. “Tonight I will enjoy this victory and then we’ll see what happens the next days”.
Australia’s Rohan Dennis, who won the opening time trial stage, also finished in that second group to concede yellow to Cancellara. Dennis was rolling behind van Garderen when the first major split fractured the peloton.
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The 30-year-old British cyclist thanked his teammates and talked about the windy conditions at the race. Dennis is the pick of the bunch today and gets a yellow banana to stick in the back pocket of his yellow jersey. Tour organizers said they are cooperating with the SNCF during the Tour.
