The opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico was shortened once again following storms in the region. The team time trial through Lido di Camaiore was originally planned as a 22.7km test but storm damage forced the organisers to make some hasty changes. They turned it into an individual time trial and cut the route by three quarters of its original length to 5.7km on Monday. However, on Wednesday morning, hours ahead of the stage, they cut a further 300 metres off the course.
There is still a chance for the time trial specialists to make their mark on the final day but the route changes are a blow for some. Orica-GreenEdge spoke to Cyclingnews earlier this week of their disappointment after bringing a team time trial centred line-up to Italy.
"This effects our team more than any other team here because we brought a team to win the team time trial. It's definitely a blow to us because it's a stage win at a very important race that we're not going to have a chance to try and win now,” directeur sportif Matt White told Cyclingnews.
Tirreno-Adriatico stage 1 start times
Tirreno-Adriatico kicks off today with a 5.4km time trial on Wednesday. Defending champion Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) will be the last man off at 16:04 local time. Here are the start times of the top riders and some we think you should look out for.
Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Cannondale-Garmin 14:15:00 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana 14:23 Leopold König (Cze) Team Sky 14:40 Joaquim Rodríguez (Spa) Katusha 14:54 Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek Factory Racing 14:55 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx-QuickStep 15:13 Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge 15:14 Joanthan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar 15:15 Damien Gaudin (Fra)AG2R La Mondiale 15:19 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 15:20 Matthias Brändle (Aut) IAM Cycling 15:27 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing 15:39 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida 15:45 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky 15:46 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF 15:47 Stephen Cummings (GBr) MTN-Qhubeka 15:48 Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling 15:49 Jürgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto-Soudal 15:50 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana 15:51 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo 15:52 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 15:53 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Colombia 15:54 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC 15:55 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Europcar 15:56 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx-QuickStep 15:57 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 15:58 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar 15:59 Aleksandr Porsev (Rus) Katusha 16:00 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing 16:01 Tom Veelers (Ned) Giant-Alpecin 16:02 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 16:03 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 16:04
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Tschopp turned professional with Phonak Hearing Systems in 2004, moving onto in 2007 Bouygues Telecom then BMC in 2011 before his move to IAM Cycling in a career that included a stage win at the Giro and the overall classification of the 2012 Tour of Utah.
"Thanks to Michel Thétaz and IAM Funds, I can realise my second dream; the first was when I was able to sign a professional contract," Tschopp said. "It's just fantastic and I sincerely thank them. I will do everything possible to pay them back and be worthy of the trust they have placed in me. I would like to play a leading role and perform well in races where endurance and technique play a key role."
The first of the six cross country World Cup rounds starts in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Repbulic, on the weekend of May 23-24 which is Tschopp's first goal of the season.
"I’ll be looking to the World Championships, the European Championships and the World Cup," Tschopp said.
Michel Thétaz, the founder of IAM Cycling, explained it was an easy to decision to support Tschopp and the creation of a new team.
"In recognition of his contributions and loyalty, we have accepted his desire to transition from the road, and have resolved to help him put his foot in the stirrup by sponsoring and supporting IAM Mountain Tchopp throughout the 2015 season," Thétaz said.
Trek Factory Racing time trial training
Despite the many changes to the route of the opening stages of Tirreno-Adriatico, teams have had a chance to look at the course. Cyclingnews followed Trek Factory Racing as they did some time trial training this week.
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InCycle back for another year
Dedicated cycling programme InCycle is back for the 2015, continuing their partnership with Cyclingnews for another year. The dedicated cycling programme begins their 2015 run on Thursday, March 12 and Cyclingnews will have a sneak peak tomorrow of what's to come.
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