The Stage - The customary opening team time trial, and crucial for the whole race as you can lose it on the first day as Geraint Thomas and Team Sky found out when their wheels burst whilst at full tilt. It’s a power test.
The Route - Two straight sections around the seafront near Lido di Camiore. The stage is conjured like an F1 race track almost, and as one can see, there are only four corners.
The Weather - Overnight rain is forecast for the area and is set to fall into the morning, meaning that it’s likely the riders will be racing on wet roads. Secondly, there’s going to be a strong wind coming in from the coast to the side of the riders, which might sound better than a headwind but still spells trouble for those who don’t have size onside.
The Winners - Will be the team that’s able to put out the most power. Slick roads are not ideal, but no team should get a considerable advantage over the others and this is all about the squads.
The Contenders - BMC have taken this event for the last two years and they are known as the dominant force in terms of the team time trial over the past three years. Rohan Dennis and Stefan Kung are there from the squad that took second in the World Championship team time trial and they ought to take the beating.
It was something of a shock when Team Sunweb took the top spot then but they have long had a useful squad of powerhouses and led by Tom Dumoulin, with Wilco Kelderman in tow, they can lay claim to having two of the biggest powerhouses and able support given that Simon Geschke is also here from the World Championship squad.
Quick-Step have been second to BMC for the last two years and they will be led by Bob Jungels, Niki Terpstra, and Zednek Stybar. They might miss some of the pulling power that they have in France right now, however.
Team Sky arguably have the strongest lineup. Jonathan Castroviejo, Chris Froome, Vasil Kiryienka, Michal Kwiatkowski, Gianni Moscon, Salvatore Puccio and Geraint Thomas is an astonishing set of riders to bring to the table and many have performed with credit against the clock already this season. Kiryienka and Castroviejo have world and European time trial titles to their name, and should be a key part of a big effort for Thomas and Froome.
Primoz Roglic is aiming for the overall here and Lotto have invested in him with a strong team time trial squad here. Jos Van Emden and George Bennett will be crucial for long turns and he shouldn’t lose too much time on the favourites today.
