Giro d'Italia 2014 - Team time trial in Belfast

A mishap in the Belfast rain catapults Garmin Sharp to last place. Will the Tour end before it has really begun? This is not the first time such crashes have caused teams and riders to tumble in the rankings.

by Bruno Fleckenstein

Orica-Greenedge has fulfilled its own claim to put on the pink bib in Ireland with the 1st place in the time trial. Team Omega Pharma finished second, 5 seconds behind, with one of the favored riders Uran Rigoberto. Cadel Evans and his team BMC remained just behind. 7 seconds behind Orica-Greenedge relegated them to third place. Team Katusha, around their rider Joaquim Rodriguez, were not expected to be very strong in the time trial and lost over 1:30 minutes to the winning team.

The intermittent rain caused trouble for several teams. The following mishap happened to the Garmin Sharp squad: It looked as if Dan Martin, riding in fourth place in the team, lost control of his racing bike on a long straight, fell and was run over by his colleagues following him, who then also fell. It was not clear whether he fell due to a swerve or whether contact with the rider in front caused this accident. Dramatic scenes and riders writhing in pain on the ground were the result. Captain Daniel Martin was left sitting on the side of the road with a suspected broken collarbone. Koldo Fernandez and Nathan Haas, on the other hand, got up again with their faces contorted in pain. The result of this tragic accident was last place, only 3:26 minutes behind the winning team.

Classification of the 1st stage.
1 ORICA GREENEDGE 24:42
2 OMEGA PHARMA - QUICK-STEP + 0:05
3 BMC RACING TEAM + 0:07
4 TINKOFF SAXO + 0:23
5 TEAM SKY + 0:35
6 ASTANA PRO TEAM + 0:38
7 CANNONDALE + 0:53
8 MOVISTAR TEAM + 0:55
9 TEAM GIANT - SHIMANO + 0:56
10 AG2R LA MONDIALE + 0:58
11 TREK FACTORY RACING + 1:00
12 NERI SOTTOLI + 1:01
13 BELKIN-PRO CYCLING TEAM + 1:01
14 BARDIANI CSF + 1:07
15 ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI - VENEZUELA + 1:14
16 FDJ.FR + 1:18
17 LAMPRE - MERIDA + 1:20
18 COLOMBIA + 1:23
19 TEAM KATUSHA + 1:33
20 LOTTO BELISOL + 1:34
21 TEAM EUROPCAR + 1:48
22 GARMIN SHARP + 3:26

 

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