The 52nd edition of the Race of the Two Seas started today with a team time trial in the beautiful Tuscan seaside town of Lido di Camaiore. The blue skies and sunshine were a welcome change from the colder weather of the last few races. Coming in 15th on the stage in a time of 24:31, the BORA-hansgrohe team would be looking ahead to make their mark on this tough seven-day race.
The stage itself was almost pan flat, with little to trouble the riders in terms of bike handling. The out and back route saw only a few turns – the biggest around the halfway point, although there were a few narrow sections to contrast the wide open roads where the most speed could be achieved. This gave teams a chance to build up a good speed on the straights, making the most of the 22.7km course. The difficulty, therefore, would be one of strategy, and ensuring that riders could stay with their stronger teammates until the finish.
One of the last teams to leave the start gate, BORA-hansgrohe had the advantage of knowing how other teams had performed. The fastest teams were arriving under the 24 minute mark and Polish time trial champion, Maciej Bodnar, would be on pacing duties to keep the team close to that. Coming in a provisional 12th position, it was a matter of waiting to see how the remaining four teams would perform to see where their time of 24:31 would place them in the day’s standings.
With a final position of 15th on the stage confirmed, the team was slower than expected, but was working hard on their first TTT together. Team Coach, Patxi Vila, gave some insight into how the stage unfolded. “It wasn’t the performance we were expecting for the team. It was BORA-hansgrohe’s first team time trial here, with a lot of new people working together and a lot of new riders racing together, so we were 15-20 seconds slower than we expected. We have to keep working and keep improving.”
Tomorrow sees the race start its first road stage. The 228km route from Camaiore to Pomarance takes in a few gentle climbs before an uphill finish – the penultimate climb possibly being a good spot for a late attack. This is the kind of stage that could suit a classics rider or an all-rounder with a powerful finish.
