The Giro d'Italia 2014 opened with a 21.7km Team Time Trial in Belfast, Ireland. The late afternoon racing was threatened by rain and wind, but SRM sponsored team, Orica-GreenEdge, found themselves with the right conditions and team power to win the stage in a time of 24:42.
Luke Durbridge's SRM race file below illustrates the physical demands of an elite team time trial performance. Luke, racing at 78kg, won the 2012 Australian National Time Trial Championships, and in 2013 won both the time trial and the Australian National Road Race Championships. His 2014 season is off to a powerful start with today's TTT victory adding to his win at the Oceania Road Race Championships and a 2nd at the National Time Trial Championships.
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Luke Durbridge averaged 400 watts in the 21.7km Team Time Trial kicking off Giro d'Italia 2014. His average cadence on the primarily flat course was 92rpm and maintained an average heart rate of 173bpm.
The team completed a time trial specific training camp earlier in the season targeting a win in today's stage. “Our first objective in Italy is to win the team time trial,” said Sport Director Matt White. “It will be all hands on deck for the TTT in Ireland. We want to take the maglia rosa and of course hold onto it for as long as possible.”
Mission accomplished! Orica-GreenEdge won the TTT with a 5 second lead over Omega Pharma-QuickStep followed closely by the BMC Racing Team.
Maglia Rosa holder, Svein Tuft, celebrated team victory and his 37th birthday on the podium.
The Giro d'Italia is off to a powerful start with 6 SRM teams finishing in the top 10 after the Team Time Trial.
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