Taylor Phinney (BMC) took a dominant win in the opening time trial of the Dubai Tour and is the first leader of the race. We have already posted several reactions and have gathered a few more below.

Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida, 12th +0.40)

"Phinney has achieved a great performance, he deserved success but, looking at the times of the other TT specialists, I think the wind in the final made a difference. My performance was good, it was just a shame that it was not enough to get into the top 10."

Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida, 24th +0.47)

"I struggled in the final stretch to keep up the pace as the wind was very hard. The sensation were in line with expectations. A few seconds just after the start, they were not bad."

Janez Brajkovic (Astana, 47th +1.03)

“Cycling has grown a lot in Dubai in the past two years – I train here in the off-season on an 80km bike path through the desert, and on Fridays you see 400 cars parked at the start and groups of 40 to 60 riders coming and going all morning. You have to get up early and start training at 7am if you want to do five hours before it gets windy and too hot – but it’s really enjoyable and it’s a good place in the off-season.”

Rafael Reis (Banco Bic, 72nd +1.20)

"All the way I didn't feel well and the feelings were not good. The strong win also denied me the chance to get a better result. I was also a bit nervous to be among the best in the world."

Vidal Fitas (DS Banco Bic whose best rider was Rafael Reis in 72nd)

"We could not expect more in the first race of the season. We noticed that we lacked race pace that can only come during the next stages and with more competition. I am satisfied with the performance of all riders."

"For the very first race of the season could not demand more. We noticed a lack of pace that could only come over the steps and competition. I am satisfied with the performance of all runners, "concluded the team manager.

"I did not feel very well all the way and the feelings were not very good. The strong wind also took me the chance to get a better result, the joined party to have some nervousness among the best in the world and when the race was decided, "said the athlete.

Adriano Malori (Movistar, 7th +0.32)

Speaking to Tuttobiciweb: "I got off to a very strong start, but suffered brutally on the section back to the finish.  Sincerely, I was thinking I could do a bit better - it's likely that I'm suffering from bad weather after getting back from San Luis, with so many days when I couldn't train properly. But actually, taking seventh is far from negligible."

Alexander Porsev (Katusha, 9th +0.35

“Our team director José Azevedo told me to give everything today. I followed his orders with this nice result. I am not at all a typical time trial rider but I like the hard effort. This time trial was not so long and it suited my capabilities as a sprinter. During the race I had the impression that I didn’t go so fast, but most likely everybody was struggling with the wind and maybe my pedalling cadence was a bit lower than ideal.

“I am not afraid of Cavendish or Kittel. In theory they are faster but cycling is more than theory. If you start with the idea that you cannot beat them, then you’re better off not starting. I am very motivated.”

Sergei Chernetskii (Katusha, 15th +0.43)

“It is nice for me to finish ahead of Vincenzo Nibali or world champion Rui Costa, but more important is that I leave some TT specialists behind me too. With guys like Tony Martin, Taylor Phinney and Fabian Cancellara in the race, I may be happy with my result. Moreover, I think I would perform even better on less flat roads, but I may not complain.”