Tirreno-Adriatico got underway today with the traditional pancake flat time trial in Lido di Camaiore. Taking place on just over 11 kilometres and with only a handful of corners on the route, it would be a test of power and aerodynamics – and a battle against the elements. With very heavy rain and blustering winds, it made for a challenging start for those who went earlier in the day; with conditions only really clearing up and lessening for those at the very end of the order.
Florian Stork set a good early benchmark time for the time as one of those early starters, stopping the clock in 13 minutes and 37 seconds. Throughout the day the rest of the guys gave their best efforts, with the team’s two GC finishers Harm Vanhoucke and Andreas Leknessund the penultimate and final riders from the team to leave the start gate. Vanhoucke delivered one of the best time trials of his career to go five seconds faster than Stork, before Leknessund measured and paced his effort perfectly; getting the most out of himself to finish the route in 13 minutes and nine seconds. As the dust settled and all of the other competitors finished their rides, it would be enough to see Leknessund take a solid eighth place on the day and the team very much in contention heading into the coming stages.
