Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) confirmed his status as one of the best time triallists in the world when he lived up to his status as the big favourite by winning the Tour de Suisse prologue. The Dutchman covered the 5.1km course in 5.41 which was 2 seconds faster than Fabian Cancellara (Trek) and this will allow him to start tomorrow’s second stage with the yellow jersey on his shoulders.

Last year Tom Dumoulin gradually got closer to the best time triallists in the world. In fact, he finished second behind Tony Martin on no less than four occasions, including in the long time trial at the Tour de France.

Two of those runner-up spots were taken in the two time trials at the Tour de Suisse and this year he was eager to make amends for those near-misses when he lined up at the start for the 2015 edition of the Swiss race. With Martin riding at the Dauphiné and Fabian Cancellara having been set back by illness, the Dutchman was the obvious favourite for the 5.1km test even though he downplayed expectations before the race as he came straight from a six-week break from racing.

However, Dumoulin fully lived up to expectations and proved that he is ready to go for yellow in the first stage of the Tour de France when he gauged his effort perfectly to win the stage. Being one of the final starters, he faced a tough battle against Cancellara who had taken the lead with a time of 5.42 but he went 2 seconds faster.

Already at the time check, Dumoulin was on track as he was second at that point, just 0.1 second slower in Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff-Saxo) who had been fastest. He had already gained 4 seconds on Cancellara and even though he lost a bit in the second half, he crossed the line in 5.41 to take the win.

Only 8 riders were still left to finish their rides and among those only Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) was expected to be a threat to the Dutchman. The Slovakian was far off the pace at the time check and event though he did well in the second part to finish the stage in fourth, it was not enough to push Dumoulon out of the hot seat.

Matthias Brändle (IAM) was the 17th rider to start the stage and his time of 5.45 saw him spend most of the day in the hot seat. In the end only Dumoulin and Cancellara were faster and so he finished the stage in third.

Among the GC contenders, Steve Morabito (FDJ), Ion Izagirre (Movistar) and Geraint Thomas (Sky) got the race off to the best start. The Swiss was a surprising fifth, only 5 seconds off the pace, while the latter two finished in the top 10, losing 6 seconds to Dumoulin.

Dumoulin will wear the yellow jersey in tomorrow’s second stage which is a very tough circuit race. The riders will first do two laps of a circuit with a category 2 climb but it is the finishing circuit that is expected to do the damage. Here they will tackle a 9% category 1 climb twice before they descend to a flat finish, meaning that a late attack could pay off or a reduced bunch could sprint for the win.

One for the specialists

The Tour de Suisse kicked off with a short 5.1km time trial in Rotkreuz. There were no major technical challenges on the short course which was almost completely flat and so it was expected to be a day for the specialists.

Rain was forecasted for the stage and so many riders had been uncertain about when to take the start. The favourites were spread throughout the entire start list, with some preferring an early start and other starting in the last wave of riders. However, it turned out that it would be a dry stage for all the riders.

Meyer takes the lead

The first riders to roll down the start ramp was Marco Marcato (Wanty) who hit the course at 15.20 local time. He stopped the clock in 5.55 to move into the hot seat and that time turned out to be hard to beat.

Jeremy Roy (FDJ) got close with 5.58 before Francisco Ventoso stopped the clock in 5.51 to finally beat Marcato. However, he never got the chance to sit in the hot seat as Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEDGE) went 4 seconds faster less than one minute later.

Best time for Brändle

Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) moved into third with a time that was just fractions of a second off Ventoso’s pace while overall contender Simon Spilak (Katusha) had a poor ride with 6.00. Michael Valgren (Tinkoff-Saxo) moved into fifth with 5.56 but all eyes now were on Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) who was one of the outsiders.

The Belgian lived up to expectations as he went one second faster than Meyer but he didn’t even have time to catch his breath before Brändle powered across the line in a time that was another second faster. Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) made it into the top 10 in the same time as overall contender Thibaut Pinot (FDJ).

Good ride by Matthews

Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEDGE) slotted into fourth before John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) cracked the top 10. Mike Teunissen (LottoNL) also had a great ride to set the same time as Cavendish while Philippe Gilbert (BMC) had to settle for the 7th best time.

Jerome Coppel (IAM) had a great comeback from injury as he set the 5th best time which was just fractions of a second faster than Bob Jungels (Trek) who slotted into sixth. Zdenek Stybar (Etixx.QuickStep) set the 8th fastest time while Kanstantsin Siutsou (Sky) narrowly missed out on the top 10.

Kwiatkowski off the pace

Danilo Wyss (BMC) set the 10th best time while one of the favourites Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep) had a disastrous ride to lose 14 seconds. Benjamin King (Cannondale) was on the verge of a surprise as he had the fastest split time but in the end he could only manage 10th.

Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep) was even faster at the split point and Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Soudal) were just 0.90 seconds slower. However, they both lost time in the end, with the Italian crossing the line in 13th.

Great performance by Izagirre

Moreno Moser (Cannondale) set the 12th fastest time before Sergio Henao (Sky) did well to limit his losses to 18 seconds. However, all eyes were on Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff-Saxo) who had the fastest split time but in the end he could only manage 15th.

Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r) did well to only lose 15 seconds to Brändle in his comeback race but it was Ion Izagirre (Movistar) who shone among the GC riders. Having been off the pace at the time check, he crossed the line in the fourth best time.

Cancellara takes the lead

Geraint Thomas (Sky) had a decent ride to reach the finish with the fifth best. Jempy Drucker (BMC) confirmed that he is a great time triallist as he was third at the time check and slotted into seventh at the finish.

The local fans were now cheering for Cancellara who was only 10th at the time check but he made a remarkable comeback to take the lead with a 2-second advantage. Moments later Morabito created a big surprise when he set the third best time, just 3 seconds slower than his compatriot.

Dumoulin wins the stage

One of the pre-race favourites Adriano Malori (Movistar) could only manage 7th before Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEDGE) slotted into 13th. However, everybody was now waiting for Dumoulin who had been second behind Bennati at the time check and he crossed the line in a time of 5.41 to take the lead.

Sagan came back from a bad start to finish the stage in fourth while Martin Elmiger (IAM) confirmed his good form by taking 12th. Silvan Dillier (BMC) had a spectacular crash that made him finish last and as Jasper Stuyven (Trek) and Kristijan Durasek (Lampre-Merida) were both off the pace, Dumoulin could step onto the podium as stage winner and race leader.