Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) continued his excellent 2014 season when he won today's opening prologue of the Tour de Romandie in very convincing fashion. On the short, flat 5.57km course in Ascona, the Pole was far better than his rivals as he put four seconds into his nearest rivals Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) and Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) in a race that was otherwise determined by very tiny margins, while his teammate Tony Martin could only manage 5th.

If anyone thought that Michal Kwiatkowski was fatigued after a very hard Ardennes campaign, he proved those predictions wrong in today's opening prologue of the Tour de Romandie. The young Pole out in a storming ride on the short 5.57km course to take a very dominant win in the WorldTour race.

With rain being forecasted later in the day, Kwiatkowski chose to start his time trial early and he timed his effort on the course perfectly. At the intermediate check, he was 1 second behind then leader Brett Lancaster (Orica-GreenEDGE) but he had kept something in reserve for the final headwind section.

Kwiatkowski proved his strength in the final half when he put 7 seconds into Lancaster to take a convincing lead in the race. With the Pole being far better than the rest, it was clear that he was a clear candidate to take the win.

At this point, there were still several specialists coming up and so Kwiatkowski faced a long nervous wait in the hot seat. Several riders beat him at the intermediate check but no one was even close to matching him in the second half.

Rohan Dennis got closest after setting the fastest time of the day at the intermediate check but by the time he crossed the line, he was 4 seconds too late, having lost 7 seconds in the second part. Sprinter Marcel Kittel again confirmed his great TT skills by taking an impressive third just fractions of a second behind Dennis.

The big favourite was world champion Tony Martin but the German again had a disappointing ride in a 2014 time trial, and he could only manage 5th, clearly beaten by his teammate Kwiatkowski. Several other specialists like Lieuwe Westra (Astana), Michael Hepburn (Orica-GreenEDGE), and Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEDGE) were much further back as they all out in disappointing rides.

Among the GC riders, Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) defending champion Chris Froome (Sky) was the one to get closest to Kwiatkowski who is also a great candidate for the overall win. The Tour de France champion bounced back from a poor intermediate time to take 13th while the Frenchman was the great surprise as he took 11th. Ion Izagrrie (Movistar), Cameron Meyer (Oirca-GreenEDGE), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Simon Spilak (Katusha) and Rigoberto Uran (OPQS) all did well to finish in the top 25.

As opposed to this, Froome's teammate Richie Porte, Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Andrew Talansky (Garmin) and Jean-Christophe Peraud 8Ag2r) who were all among the pre-race favourites performed below expectations in the short opener.

Tomorrow the race continues with a very hilly stage that includes the big Simplonpass and a category 2 climb in the finale. However, the final part is downhill and flat and so Kwiatkowski has a big chance to defend his jersey as a sprint from a reduced peloton is expected.

A flat prologue

The 68th Tour de Romandie kicked off with a 5.57km prologue in the city of Asacona. The course had a small descent in the first part but was otherwise completely technical and had very few turns. It seemed to be perfectly suited to the big specialists and many of them had gathered in Switzerland to battle it out for the first leader's jersey in the race.

Rain and snow have been forecasted for most of the week but the riders got the race off to a pleasant start as it was beautiful sunshine by the time Marcel Wyss (IAM) kicked off the race. The Swiss set a time of 6.37 that allowed him to stay in the hot seat for a few minutes as his time held off the challenge from riders like Janez Brajkovic (Astana) and Nelson Oliveira (Lampre-Merida).

Best time for Navardauskas

The first rider to beat him was Ramnuas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) who continued his run of form by lowering the mark by 6 seconds. He held the lead for quite some time while Georg Preidler (Giant-Shimano) slotted into the provisional 3rd.

All eyes were now on prologue specialist Brett Lancaster (Orica-GreenEDGE) who lived up to expectations as he went 3 seconds faster than Navardauskas. Danny Van Poppel (Trek) had a fantastic ride to draw equal with Navarduskas but the focus had now turned to Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).

Kwiatkowski takes the lead

At the intermediate check, the Pole was 1 seconds behind Lancaster but when he crossed the line he was a massive 6 seconds ahead. Shortly after, Matthias Brandle (IAM) made it into third when he crossed the line in a time that was 7 seconds slower than Kwiatkowski's.

TT specialist Lieuwe Westra (Astana) who is suffering from the effects of a crash, could only make it into 6th while Jeremy Roy (FDJ) also had a disappointing ride to finish outside the top 10. Damien Gaudin (Ag2r) was also far off the pace while Orica-GreenEDGE GC rider Cameron Meyer did well to slot into 20th.

Great ride by Keizer

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) had a solid ride to make it into the provisional top 20 while Tobias Ludvigsson (Giant) and Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEDGE) could not make it into the top 10. However, Martijn Keizer (Belkin) was on a fabulous day as he crossed the line to make it into the provisional 5th.

Julien Vermote (OPQS) continued the great day for his team when he crossed the line in 10th while ANthon Roux (FDJ) did even better to move into 9th. Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek) proved that he is ready for the Giro by moving into 2nd while Uran produced a surprisingly good ride when he crossed the line in 13th.

Hofland loses speed

Moreno Hofland (Belkin) showed his explosive skills when he set the best time at the intermediate check but he lost a lot in the second half and could only manage 21st. Thomas De Gendt (OPQS) equaled the Dutchman at the intermediate but at the finish he was only 11th while Jesus Herrada (MovistaR9 made it into the provisional 10th.

Several great TT specialists were now on the course and Dennis looked like the big danger for Kwiatkowski when he set the best time at the intermediate check. At the finish, however, he has lost his advantage and could only manage 2nd.

Disappointment for Hepburn and Porte

Hepburn and Stef Clement (Belkin) had disappointing rides to take 24th and 23rd respectively while Jesse Sergent (Trek) did much better to take 6th. Ion Izagirre (Movistar) also cracked the top 10 when he made it into the provisional 10th.

While Richie Porte (Sky) crossed the line in 53rd to continue his poor run of form, Vincenzo Nibali did well to cross the line in 14th. The big surprise, however, was Geniez who made it into 9th when he finished his ride.

Great day for Kittel

Marcel Kittel showed that he is still a great TT rider when he made it onto the podium, just fractions of a second behind Dennis while Talansky had a disappointing ride to take 31st. Spilak did much better to cross the line in 20th while Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) failed to repeat his 2011 win in this prologue as he could only manage 37th.

All eyes were now on Martin but as he was behind Kwiatkowski at the intermediate check, it was clear that it would difficult for him to win. At the finish, he had lost 5 seconds to his teammate and had to accept a disappointing 5th.

Froome was now the final rider on the course and he seemed to be on a disastrous day as he could only manage 35th at the intermediate check. However, he finished his ride strongly to cross the line in 13th and become one of the great winners among the GC riders.