The new Alaphilippe has arrived

March 8 ^th 2017 - 16:57

Arndt surprise leader
Andrea Guardini (UAE) was first in action but was overtaken in the climb by Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale). The first fastest time to hold a little longer was the one clocked by Nikias Arndt (Sunweb) in 22:50. The German proved in the climb to Mont Brouilly he was more than just a fast sprinter. It took nearly an hour and a half to see former Vuelta red jersey holder David de la Cruz improve his mark on 22:24. Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), at that stage fastest at the bottom of the climb, also bettered Arndt's time in 22:33.

Porte too cautious?
Among the favorites at the start, four-times time trial world champion Tony Martin (Katusha) had to be content with trailing De la Cruz by 19 seconds in 22:53. Australia's Michael Matthews (Sunweb) was far more convincing, scoring the fastest time on the flat section in 14 minutes exactly before flattering slightly on the hill and finish on the heels of De la Cruz in 22:26. His compatriot Richie Porte was probably too cautious before the ascent. While he was 51 seconds off the pace at the bottom, the 2013 and 2015 Paris-Nice winner was only five seconds behind De la Cruz on the line. He eventually took the 10th place.

Contador impresses
Alberto Contador paced his effort much better. Third at the 11.4-km mark, the 2007 and 2010 winner of the Race to the Sun smashed the opposition in the ascent, improving De la Cruz's mark by 26 seconds. It seemed enough for the Spaniard to clinch his 6th stage victory in the Race to the Sun, especially after Tony Gallopin and Gorka Izaguirre both finished one second behind him.

Alaphilippe steals the show
But Alaphilippe rapidly set the record straight. As his rivals were holding their breath in anticipation, the Frenchman was the fastest by far at the 11.4-km mark and he did not falter in the ascent, finally winning his first major time trial by an impressive 19-second margin. Starting last, stage 1 winner and yellow jersey holder Arnaud Demare (FDJ) did his best, finishing 1:41 off the pace in 47th place.