“If I could chop the front of this jersey into nine pieces and share it amongst my teammates I would,” Gerrans said. “Then the back of the jersey needs to be chopped into about 50 pieces for everyone involved in the ORICA-GreenEDGE organisation because it’s a real credit to everybody within the team that we have these successes.”
As riders negotiated the fast and flat course along the Italian coastline, much of which via a narrow bike path, a head wind assisted the strong team which included time trial specialists Michael Hepburn, Luke Durbridge, Sam Bewley and Brett Lancaster.
“We weren’t quite sure what to expect with the bike path but it ended up being a fantastic course, a little technical in parts but very fast,” Gerrans said. “Then with the head wind we had, it really suited the strong team we had here.”
Gerrans was thrilled to pull on the leader’s jersey to end a tough start to the season. “I’ve had a difficult start to this year but I said all along things can change really quickly and I can’t think of a better way,” the 34-year-old said.
“I hope everyone in Australia stayed up late to watch the stage and I hope my mates in Mansfield understand the significance of this win here and why I am wearing a pink shirt.”
The nine-man ORICA-GreenEDGE team went out hard but with well thought out tactics was able to come home even stronger. With six teams still to ride, the outfit was leading at the intermediate time check by eight seconds and at the finish line by 13seconds.
Shortly after, Tinkoff-Saxo posted a faster intermediate check by two seconds to cause some temporary concerns but they suffered in the latter half of the race.
“It’s very gratifying,” sport director Matt White said of the victory. “We were favourites in everyone’s books and we’ve had a great track record in this discipline since we started as a team.
“It is a bit of pressure but the guys, they are used to it and they can handle it. Winning these events is really nice because they are team wins. We do put a lot of effort into it but it’s a sensational result.”
As ORICA-GreenEDGE crossed the finish line they had six riders still together, Gerrans, Hepburn, Simon Clarke, Michael Matthews, Pieter Weening and Esteban Chaves.
Pleased that everything went to plan, White praised the efforts of the entire team. “We knew we had to go out very very fast,” White said. “We did and you pay for that.”
“We had looked at certain parts of the course that we needed to start shedding guys and even though we had the fastest intermediate time check we knew we still had to do it. A couple of our big boys put in some monster turns to raise the speed again before they exited.”
Tomorrow, the Giro d’Italia road stages commence with a 177km journey from Albenga to Genova. With just one category four classified climb, over 50km from the finish, stage two is expected to come down to a bunch sprint.
Results
1. Orica GreenEdge 0:19:26
2. Tinkoff-Saxo 0:07
3. Astana Pro Team 0:13
4. Etixx-Quick-Step 0:19
5. Movistar Team 0:21
6. BMC Racing Team 0:25
7. IAM Cycling
8. FDJ.fr 0:26
9. Team Sky 0:27
10. Team Katusha
11. Trek Factory Racing 0:29
12. Lotto Soudal
13. Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:36
14. Bardiani CSF 0:37
15. CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:45
16. AG2R La Mondiale 0:48
17. Team Giant-Alpecin 0:49
18. Southeast Pro Cycling 0:52
19. Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:53
20. Nippo-Vini Fantini 0:57
21. Lampre-Merida 0:59
22. Androni Giocattoli 1:03
GC after Stage 1
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 0:19:26
2. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
3. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
4. Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge
5. Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
6. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica GreenEdge
7. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo 7
8. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo
9. Michael Rogers (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo
10. Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo
11. Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
12. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo
13. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:13
14. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
15. Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team
16. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
17. Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
18. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team
19. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
20. Mikel Landa Meana (Esp) Astana Pro Team
21. Davide Malacarne (Ita) Astana Pro Team
22. Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step 0:19
23. Gianni Meersman (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
24. Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx-Quick-Step
25. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx-Quick-Step
26. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
27. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx-Quick-Step
28. Juan Jose Lobato (Esp) Movistar Team 0:21
29. Jesus Herrada (Esp) Movistar Team
30. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team
31. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team
32. Benat Intxausti (Esp) Movistar Team
33. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
34. Igor Anton (Esp) Movistar Team
35. Andrey Amador (Crc) Movistar Team
36. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling 0:25
37. Stef Clement (Ned) IAM Cycling
38. Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
39. Sébastien Reichenbach (Sui) IAM Cycling
40. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
41. Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
42. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
43. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
44. Rick Zabel (Ger) BMC Racing Team
45. Stefan Küng (Sui) BMC Racing Team
46. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
47. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team
48. Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) BMC Racing Team
49. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
50. Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:26
51. Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ.fr
52. Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.fr
53. Kévin Reza (Fra) FDJ.fr
54. Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr
55. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr
56. Leopold Konig (Cze) Team Sky 0:27
57. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky
58. Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky
59. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky
60. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Sky
61. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky
62. Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Sky
63. Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky
64. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha
65. Anton Vorobyev (Rus) Team Katusha
66. Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
67. Luca Paolini (Ita) Team Katusha
68. Alexander Porsev (Rus) Team Katusha
69. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha
70. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:29
71. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
72. Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
73. Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek Factory Racing
74. Fabio Silvestre (Por) Trek Factory Racing
75. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Soudal
76. Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal
77. Stig Broeckx (Bel) Lotto Soudal
78. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
79. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
80. Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling 0:34
81. Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:36
82. Rick Flens (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
83. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
84. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
85. Nick Van Der Lijke (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
86. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
87. Martijn Keizer (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
88. Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:37
89. Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
90. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
91. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
92. Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
93. Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF
94. Francesco Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani CSF
95. Luca Chirico (Ita) Bardiani CSF
96. Ivan Basso (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:39
97. Clement Chevrier (Fra) IAM Cycling 0:43
98. Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:45
99. Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
100. Sylwester Szmyd (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
101. Maciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
102. Grega Bole (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
103. Branislau Samoilau (Blr) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
104. Marek Rutkiewicz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
105. Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
106. Bartlomiej Matysiak (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
107. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:48
108. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
109. Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
110. Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
111. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
112. Carlos Betancur (Col) AG2R La Mondiale
113. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
114. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:49
115. Caleb Fairly (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
116. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
117. Chad Haga (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
118. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin
119. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
120. Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:50
121. Mauro Finetto (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling 0:52
122. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling
123. Jonathan Monsalve (Ven) Southeast Pro Cycling
124. Elia Favilli (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling
125. Matteo Busato (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling
126. Manuel Belletti (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling
127. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Southeast Pro Cycling
128. Janier Acevedo (Col) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:53
129. Davide Villella (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
130. Thomas Danielson (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
131. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
132. Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
133. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
134. Andre Cardoso (Por) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
135. Nikolay Mihaylov (Bul) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:55
136. Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Southeast Pro Cycling 0:56
137. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini 0:57
138. Giacomo Berlato (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
139. Alessandro Malaguti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
140. Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
141. Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
142. Daniele Colli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
143. Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
144. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:59
145. Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Lampre-Merida
146. Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida
147. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida
148. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida
149. Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida
150. Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 1:00
151. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
152. Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 1:03
153. Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Androni Giocattoli
154. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
155. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
156. Davide Appollonio (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
157. Simone Stortoni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
158. Gianfranco Zilioli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 1:05
159. Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo-Vini Fantini 1:09
160. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:10
161. Manabu Ishibashi (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini 1:12
162. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal 1:15
163. Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF 1:21
164. Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:25
165. David De La Cruz (Esp) Etixx-Quick-Step 1:27
166. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
167. Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 1:41
168. Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ.fr 1:48
169. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ.fr
170. Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr
171. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) IAM Cycling 1:56
172. Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 1:57
173. Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha 2:13
174. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Team Katusha
175. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 2:15
176. Sam Bewley (Nzl) Orica GreenEdge
177. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo 2:24
178. Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 2:27
179. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 2:30
180. Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Lampre-Merida 2:32
181. Cheng Ji (Chn) Team Giant-Alpecin 2:33
182. Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
183. Marco Bandiera (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 2:43
184. Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling 2:45
185. Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:46
186. Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
187. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha 3:02
188. Calvin Watson (Aus) Trek Factory Racing 3:06
189. Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 3:07
190. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Sky 3:09
191. Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre-Merida 3:11
192. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek Factory Racing 3:20
193. Gang Xu (Chn) Lampre-Merida 3:21
194. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx-Quick-Step 3:28
195. Iljo Keisse (Bel) Etixx-Quick-Step
196. Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal 3:31
197. Ramon Carretero (Pan) Southeast Pro Cycling 3:53