Wiggins’ title defense off to a good start with second place
Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) showed off his Australian national time trial champion colors in style on Sunday afternoon in Grenoble, taking the 5.7km prologue in the Critérium du Dauphiné. Durbridge finished in 6’39”, a second faster than defending champion Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling). Andriy Grivko (Astana) was third, in 6’42”.
Most of the race favourites were scheduled to leave the start house at the end of the stage, but due to changes in the weather throughout the day, it was the early riders that would end up deciding the race.
Rain and drizzle would dampen the road for the middle third of the start list, but by the time the final 20 riders and Wiggins took to the course, it had mostly dried out. But according to Durbridge at the finish, it was an advantage to go early, as winds picked up throughout the day.
“I definitely made the right choice [in starting early],” Durbridge told reporters at the finish. “Storms were predicted for the afternoon so the director said that I should go early. It made for a nervous wait but I’m very happy I did that. If I had waited until later, it might not have happened.
“To beat these guys that I have always looked up to [is great]. Bradley Wiggins is such a class bike rider and I knew he was in form. Tony Martin too. I did not come here to get a [specific] result, I came here to get the best result I could. And if the best result I could was the yellow jersey on the day, then that is great.”
For the 21-year-old Aussie, it was his fourth win of the season, after the Australian time trial championships, plus the time trial stage and the overall in Circuit de la Sarthe-Pays de la Loire. Durbridge was extremely pleased at being able to pull on the first yellow jersey at the Tour de France tune-up.
“For me, I am speechless. I had no idea, I did not expect this at all. I had good legs. I think I was very lucky with the weather, the wind picked up later and that was to my advantage. But it can go the other way too. It means I will take the first yellow jersey of the Dauphiné. I have worked very hard for this and it is great that it paid off.
“My plan was not to come here and ride general classification at the Dauphiné Libére. I had two objectives coming here – one was today, the other is the fourth stage. It is the longest time trial that I had ever done, but I’ll do my best. If I hold the jersey tomorrow, that is great, but the big objective now is stage four.”
Paris-Nice runner up Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) was the first rider onto the Grenoble course, which featured only five turns – three at 90 degrees and two at 180 degrees. A surprising name laid down the early best time on the pancake-flat course, as Carlos Barredo (Rabobank) posted a time that would eventually put him into fourth overall. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) was second best early on, followed by Westra, before Grivko went a shade faster than Barredo.
It was not a long wait at the top for the Astana rider however, as Durbridge, the 26th rider to start, seven spots after Grivko, flew through with the new best time.
From this point, it was a long and arduous wait for the young Aussie as he watched time trial specialists and Grand Tour contenders alike come in a bit off his time. Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing) was 12 seconds slower, and his team-mate Cadel Evans was six seconds behind Durbridge.
But like Wiggins and fellow contender Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), who was just five seconds slower than Durbridge, Evans posted a time that keeps him well in contention for the overall victory next weekend.
As roads showed increasing dampness, Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) slid out on one of the two U-turns. Motorbike and team car head lamps were lighting up the legs of the riders in front of them, including Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ-BigMat), who posted a respectable time coming off of injury.
Michael Matthews (Rabobank) came through a bit later, and was the first rider in some time to break the seven-minute barrier, as weather conditions continued to affect the outcome. As the day wound down, bigger names hit the course as the roads dried somewhat. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) put in an effort, posting a time just under seven minutes, which had him smiling with interviewers at the finish.
David Millar (Garmin-Barracuda) was unable to force his way into the top ten, as the Brit came across nine seconds in arrears, but Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) made his presence felt, finally breaking up the top ten and posting a time that would end up 8th overall.
Of the final twenty starters, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Anthony Roux (FDJ-BigMat) were impressive, as was Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol). And while Andy Schleck showed big effort on his face, his time did not reflect the energy expended, as the Radioshack-Nissan rider rolled across in 95th place, 26 seconds slower than Durbridge.
Denis Menchov (Katusha) and Janez Brajkovic (Astana) put up modest showings as two of the final five to start, with Wiggins nearly breathing on their backs. Gunning for his third stage race victory of the season, the Brit dove into corners, controlling his time trial machine with precision.
He suffered a 1.35 second defeat to Durbridge, but got his Critérium du Dauphiné campaign off to a very solid start.