2015 Tour de France Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2015 Tour de France is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Rohan Dennis pulled off an audacious upset on a hot and windy afternoon in Utrecht to record his first professional time trial victory and become the seventh Australian to wear the yellow jersey. German national champion Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) struggled in the conditions as he finished second, five seconds behind Dennis. Having won the last five opening tests against the clock in the Tour de France, Fabian Cancellara could only manage third with the BMC rider upsetting the favourites with the fastest ever Tour de France time trial.
A flying ride by Jos Van Emden saw the Dutchman record the fastest time at the intermediate checkpoint and set the early mark for success. Dennis put 15 seconds into his time to book a long and nervous afternoon in the hot seat.
"We decided to go off early, set a bench mark and make everyone else chase me. It worked out perfectly," Dennis said after the stage. "There’s a little bit of shock. We’ve worked with the team and came out here bout a month ago to check and recon the course. It’s the Tour de France and the yellow jersey. I’ve always dreamed of being in this position and now I am.
"It started to sink in when I saw the big threats come in behind me. It was surreal but a few emotions came out."
Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) had the support of the crowd but the wait for the nation's first yellow jersey since 1989 was extended for another day as he also faded on the second half of the course. Dumoulin was the closest of the favourites at the time check but like Martin and Cancellara after him, the second half of the course was their undoing.
Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) was the best of the 'fab four' as he crossed the line the 22nd place. 2013 champion Chris Froome (Team Sky) was next in 39th place, seven seconds down on Nibali, with Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) conceding 15 seconds and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) 18 seconds.
It was Thibaut Pinot of FDJ though with the best time of the GC men in 18th place followed by Tejay van Garderen (BMC) in 20th place. It was another Frenchman, Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), who now finds himself on the back foot by conceding 53 seconds to his compatriot.
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