As a past winner of the Coppi e Bartali TTT, Team NetApp-Endura have always put much emphasis on the collective discipline. Hence, the team was left disappointed when they could only manage 14th in yesterday's Tirreno-Adriatico opener.

 

The 49th running of Tirreno – Adriatico began yesterday with an 18.5-km team time trial from Donoratico to San Vincenzo. Team NetApp – Endura is competing there in its first WorldTour race of the season, and they placed 14th with a 53-second deficit behind the leaders. Victory was claimed by the Belgian team Omega Pharma – Quick-Step. Orica GreenEDGE and Movistar also won spots on the podium.

 

The course for today's team time trial included a few winding passages in the first part as well as a short climb. The second part of the course wasn't particularly challenging from a technical or topographical point of view. Hardly any wind and pleasant temperatures offered similar conditions to all 22 participating teams, setting the stage for a winning average pace of nearly 55 km/h.

 

"I'm not really satisfied with the outcome of the team time trial. The first part of the course was very technical with some curves. The team rode too cautiously there and we gave away too much time. I think we gave up 15 seconds in the first part, which just couldn't be made up during the second part. That made the difference from a top 10 finish, which would've been possible today," explains Enrico Poitschke speaking about the start of Tirreno –Adriato.

 

Today's second stage will cover 166 kilometers from San Vincenzo to Cascina. There are three comparably short mountain classifications to complete in the first half of the race. After that, it's a flat course to the finish line. However, before the riders reach a 10-kilometer final circuit in Cascina, which they have to complete twice, they will face two sprint classifications.

 

"It will come down to a sprint, and we'll try to get Sam in good position for it. Of course, there's no pressure at all on us with the world's best sprinters competing here. We're totally realistic about that and will simply do our best and see what how it works out in the end," says Poitschke looking ahead to tomorrow.

 

You can read our preview of stage 2 here.