World team time trial champions OmegaPharma-QuickStep were by far the strongest in today's opening team time trial of Tirreno-Adriatico. With Mark Cavendish first over the finish line, he will start tomorrow's first stage in the blue leader's jersey.

Much has been said about this year's Tirreno-Adriatico which looks to be the single event outside the Grand Tour with the most star-studded line-up this season. With GC contenders Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff),  Chris Froome (Sky), Cadel Evans (BMC), Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) alongside a host of sprinters and classics contenders, the expectations for the race have been incredibly high.

Nobody was let down in today's opening 16,9 km team time trial which produced an intense battle between some of the world's top teams. On a non-technical course raced in rainy and windy conditions, big pre-race favorite OmegaPharma-QuickStep to be way stronger than the opposition.

With world time trial champion Tony Martin taking massive turns at the front, Mark Cavendish passed the finish line first to secure the overall GC lead. The team timed its effort to perfection and were left with the minimum requirement of 5 riders at the end.

After winning the opening team time trial in last year's Vuelta a Espana, Movistar continued its gradual improvement with a strong second place 11 seconds behind the Belgian super team, and this puts GC contenders Benat Intxausti, Eros Capecchi and Juan Jose Cobo into a favorable position. Third place was occupied by BMC which means that Cadel Evans has got the upper-hand among the pre-race favorites.

Among the main contenders for overall victory, the biggest loser was Joaquin Rodriguez whose Katusha team lost 44 second to the winners. Vincenzo Nibali has lost 20 seconds, Chris Froome enters tomorrow's stage 25 seconds behind the lead while Contador trails by 29 seconds.

The stage marked a turning point in the globalization of cycling with the participation of the first African team in a WorldTour event. The South African MTN Qhubeka produced a solid effort and ended up in 17th exactly 1 minute behind OmegaPharma-QuickStep.

The race continues tomorrow with a mammoth 232 km first stage. With an almost completely flat parcours, we should be in for the season's first big showdown between rivals Cavendish and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol).

Result

1. OmegaPharma-QuickStep 19.24

2. Movistar +0.11

3. BMC +0.16

4. Cannondale +0.18

5. Astana +0.20

6. Orica GreenEdge +0.24

7. Team Sky +0.25

8. Team Saxo-Tinkoff +0.29

9. Lampre-Merida +0.35

10. Radioshack-Leopard +0.36

11. Blanco +0.37

12. Team NetApp-Endura +0.39

13. Katusha +0.44

14. Team Argos-Shimano +0.51

15. Lotto-Belisol +0.55

16. Garmin-Sharp +0.57

17. MTN - Qhubeka +1.00

18. FDJ +1.02

19. Vacansoleil +1.04

20. Ag2r - La Mondiale +1.05

21. Vini Fantini - Selle Italia + 1.06

22. Euskaltel - Euskadi +1.06

Overall standings

1. Mark Cavendish (OmegaPharma-QuickStep) 19.24

2. Tony Martin (OmegaPharma-QuickStep)

3. Michal Kwiatkowski (OmegaPharma-QuickStep)

4. Zdenek Stybar (OmegaPharma-QuickStep)

5. Niki Terpstra (OmegaPharma-QuickStep)

6. Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) +0.11