March 06, 2013 (Donoratico, Italy) – Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team showed both power and confidence on a rainy 16.9km TTT course at Tirreno-Adriatico, winning the opening stage with a time of 19:24 on Wednesday.

Mark Cavendish, Tony Martin, Niki Terpstra, Zdenek Stybar, and Michal Kwiatkowski finished 11s faster than Movistar Team, and 16s faster than BMC Racing Team. OPQS averaged 52.268km/h. This impressive team victory gives OPQS the 13th win, in three disciplines, in 2013. Cavendish, who crossed the line first, wears the Maglia Azzurra going into Stage 2. Kwiatkowski is also the Best Young Rider.

“One name is a huge reason why we did so well today: Tony Martin,” Cavendish said of the UCI  World TT Champion. “He did the majority of the work, but the guys today, all of them, were just incredible. As for the planning, we did a lot of it but we didn’t too much pressure on it. It was actually quite relaxing.

“Everyone knew what they had to do. We finished with five but everyone had a part to play. Maybe that’s what makes us so good, because no one has a real ego except maybe me (laughs). For everybody, it’s about getting eight guys from point A to point B as fast as possible. I’m super proud to be a part of it. For me, when there’s a team time trial win, it’s one of the nicest things in cycling. The whole team gets to celebrate. That’s what makes this event special.”

Cavendish wanted to make it clear that, while five riders out of eight crossed the line together, it was a complete team effort to win the stage. “The five we crossed the finish line its quite a misconception to think that the five that crossed the finish line are the five strongest,” Cavendish said. “It doesn’t work like that. For example at the top of the climb it was difficult. Tony went away.

“It could have been easy for Gert Steegmans to go with Tony, but instead he waited and brought the rest of the team back to Tony. That finished Gert, you know. So maybe he did one of the best rides of the team today, but he’s not there in the top five. So I think it’s got nothing to do with being in the top five when it comes to your condition. It really depends on where you are, or the circumstances.”

As for Cavendish, he is having plenty of fun riding for OPQS in 2013. The morale is clearly high for the Manx Missile. “I’m really enjoying riding my bike again,” Cavendish said. “I don’t know if it’s the past or this team is just so nice, but I am just really, really happy. I found a new motivation again.

“This is my 7th or 8th year as a professional, but whatever happened this year I have newfound love again. It’s just really refreshing to be part of a team where I’ve got so many friends where I grew up in the past with them and now I’m having so much fun. This is the most I’ve raced this kind of year and I’ve got a daughter and fiancee at home. It’s really hard to be this far away for this long, but when you’ve got a good group of people like I am with, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“It was not easy today,” Martin added about the team victory and the challenges of the parcour. “We knew we were one of the big favorites, but it is always difficult on this kind of short distance, but also with some rain and some corners. You always have to take some risks in these kinds of races. I think the whole team found a good way to handle this pressure. I knew I am one of the strongest so I knew I had to take some of the responsibility.

“But I had a good feeling, good legs, so I could really give everything. The bike and material was perfect. I could already see it in Volta ao Algarve. The Shiv is working perfect, even today. Given the extreme weather conditions and the wet road, tires were becoming a key element. In the morning the mechanics set up the pressure according to the road condition, and during the race our tires proved to be equally good in grip and rolling resistance. I want to also add that I had really strong teammates and everyone did their job perfectly, even in the difficult conditions. A win is always better when you can share it as a team.”

Results

1. Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:19:24
2. Movistar Team 0:00:11
3. BMC Racing Team 0:00:16
4. Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:19
5. Astana Pro Team 0:00:20
6. Orica-GreenEdge 0:00:24
7. Sky Procycling 0:00:25
8. Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:29
9. Lampre-Merida 0:00:35
10. RadioShack Leopard 0:00:36
11. Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:37
12. Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:39
13. Katusha 0:00:44
14. Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:51
15. Lotto Belisol 0:00:54
16. Garmin-Sharp 0:00:57
17. MTN-Qhubeka 0:01:00
18. FDJ 0:01:02
19. Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:04
20. Ag2R La Mondiale 0:01:05
21. Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:06
22. Euskaltel-Euskadi

GC after Stage 1

1. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:19:24
2. Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
4. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
5. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
6. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 0:00:11
7. Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Esp) Movistar Team
8. Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
9. Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Esp) Movistar Team
10. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team
11. Alex Dowsett (Gbr) Movistar Team
12. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Esp) Movistar Team
13. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:16
14. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
15. Stephen Cummings (Gbr) BMC Racing Team
16. Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team
17. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
18. Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:19
19. Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling
20. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
21. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
22. Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling
23. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling
24. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:20
25. Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team
26. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
27. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
28. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
29. Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro Team
30. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:00:24
31. Daryl Impey (Rsa) Orica-GreenEdge
32. Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
33. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
34. Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
35. Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
36. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Sky Procycling 0:00:25
37. Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling
38. Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling
39. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Sky Procycling
40. Christopher Froome (Gbr) Sky Procycling
41. Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling
42. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling
43. Alberto Contador Velasco (Esp) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:29
44. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
45. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
46. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
47. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
48. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:32
49. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:35
50. Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida
51. Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida
52. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida
53. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida
54. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida
55. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:36
56. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard
57. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard
58. Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
59. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard
60. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:37
61. Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
62. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
63. Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
64. Lars Boom (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
65. Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:38
66. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida
67. David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Esp) Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:39
68. Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura
69. Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp-Endura
70. Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp-Endura
71. Paul Voss (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura
72. Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha 0:00:44
73. Angel Vicioso Arcos (Esp) Katusha
74. Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Esp) Katusha
75. Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha
76. Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha
77. Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Esp) Katusha
78. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:51
79. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
80. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
81. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
82. Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano
83. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:54
84. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Belisol
85. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol
86. Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol
87. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
88. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol
89. Bram Tankink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:57
90. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
91. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp
92. Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp
93. Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp
94. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp
95. Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) MTN-Qhubeka 0:01:00
96. Jacobus Venter (Rsa) MTN-Qhubeka
97. Jay Robert Thomson (Rsa) MTN-Qhubeka
98. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka
99. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Esp) MTN-Qhubeka
100. Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka
101. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ 0:01:02
102. Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ
103. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ
104. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
105. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
106. Laurent Mangel (Fra) FDJ
107. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Esp) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:04
108. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
109. Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
110. Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
111. Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
112. Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
113. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:05
114. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
115. Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
116. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
117. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
118. Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:06
119. Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
120. Francesco Failli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
121. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
122. Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
123. Jorge Azanza Soto (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
124. Robert Vrecer (Slo) Euskaltel-Euskadi
125. Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
126. Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi
127. Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
128. Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
129. Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team
130. José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Team NetApp-Endura 0:01:09
131. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:01:10
132. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:17
133. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:01:22
134. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
135. Robert Hunter (Rsa) Garmin-Sharp 0:01:26
136. Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:27
137. Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard
138. Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:34
139. Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Esp) Movistar Team 0:01:35
140. Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ 0:01:50
141. Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team NetApp-Endura 0:01:54
142. Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Team NetApp-Endura
143. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
144. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:02:05
145. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
146. Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
147. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:02:10
148. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:02:20
149. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:02:26
150. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:02:27
151. Vicente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Lotto Belisol
152. Grega Bole (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:02:30
153. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky Procycling 0:02:31
154. Martin Reimer (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 0:02:35
155. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:02:37
156. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:02:38
157. Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Garmin-Sharp 0:02:43
158. Nick Nuyens (Bel) Garmin-Sharp
159. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:02:47
160. Miguel Minguez Ayala (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:02:48
161. Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
162. Boy van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:02:55
163. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 0:02:56
164. Andreas Stauff (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 0:02:57
165. Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:03:07
166. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
167. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:03:10
168. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
169. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard 0:03:11
170. Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:15
171. Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 0:03:20
172. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha
173. Steve Chainel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:36
174. Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Esp) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:03:48
175. Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff