Rafal Majka and Nicolas Roche could not have wished a better start to their Giro d'Italia as their Tinkoff-Saxo team was a surprise fourth in today's opening team time trial. The pair now head into the first road stages with important time gains over most of their GC rivals.

The Tinkoff-Saxo Giro d’Italia line-up got a great start of this year’s first Grand Tour. They powered through the 21.7 kilometer course through the streets of Belfast where a warm welcoming crowd saluted the riders who did the course in 25 minutes and 2 seconds.

It certainly looked promising at the time of crossing the finish line. Tinkoff-Saxo team secured Nicolas Roche and Rafal Majka a solid position in the GC by finishing fourth.

 
The time trial specialists, Orica-GreenEdge took the stage win.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo DS, Lars Michaelsen was content with his riders’ performance:
 
“It’s a very good start for us. The boys rode excellently out there with great power and stayed closely together on the quite technically demanding course. I believed we could do well today but the boys surprised me in a very positive way.”
 
And road captain, Michael Rogers added:
 
“We’re happy with our performance. Compared to the other GC riders, we made sure that Nico and Majka are now in a great GC position from the start of the race.

"The next few stages will be tricky and we have to stay alert as the wind conditions may have an influence on the finale. But we have had some time to got a close advance look at the stages and we’re well-prepared.

"On a personal note, I truly enjoy being back in the peloton. During the months away from racing I came to realize how blessed I am to be a professional rider and this is what I want to do. I haven’t missed a single day of training and I'm looking forward to supporting our captains here."