Good start for Nicolas Roche's Saxo Tinkoff at Vuelta; Dan Martin's Garmin-Sharp struggle

Nicolas Roche and his Saxo-Tinkoff team mates on their way to 6th place in the team time trial opening stage of La Vuelta this evening, Saturday.

By Gavin McLoughlin

It was a case of mixed fortunes for Ireland’s Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin on the opening stage of a brutally difficult Vuelta a Espana today, Saturday.

In the 27-kilometre team time-trial from Vilanova de Arousa to Sanxenxo, Roche’s Saxo-Tinkoff team finished 6^th, going round in a time of 30:31, 32 seconds slower than stage winners Astana. This puts the Irishman in 29^th place overall, 32 seconds behind race-leader Janez Brajkovic.

Dan Martin’s Garmin-Sharp team completed the course in a disappointing time of 31:40. Martin is 112^th overall, 1:41 behind Brajkovic.

Forced to sacrifice his personal ambitions in support of Alberto Contador at the Tour de France, Roche takes to the year’s final Grand Tour as one of four protected Saxo-Tinkoff riders.

Having finished 7^th overall in the 2010 Vuelta, the Irishman harbours hopes of cracking the top five in this edition. However, with a general classification field of quite some quality competing at the race, this will be an onerous challenge.

A 5^th place at the Clásica San Sebastian is the most notable result of Roche’s season to date, and though he was strong on the flats and the descents at the Tour de France, his climbing was not of the standard it has been in previous seasons.

Now 2.5 kilograms lighter than he was at the Tour, a leaner body will help Roche on a parcours that is heavily slanted toward the better climbers. In addition, his protected status should allow him to preserve more energy for the summit finishes.

Meanwhile, Dan Martin - a stage winner atop La Covatilla in the 2011 Vuelta - leads the general classification hopes of the Garmin-Sharp team this time around. After being struck by illness in the final week of the Tour de France, his current condition is something of a mystery.

Martin has enjoyed the season of his career in 2013, and as the year draws to a close the Irishman’s primary goal is to snag the rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Tuscany at the end of September.

He takes to this Vuelta with a relaxed attitude, but the arduous route will favour him. And having trained lightly since falling sick, the Garmin-Sharp leader should be fresh.

Astana’s victory in this evening’s time-trial represents the best possible start for their leader Vincenzo Nibali. An imperious winner at his native Grand Tour in May, the Italian seeks to claim his second overall victory at the Vuelta having conquered this beautiful race in 2010.

The Kazakh outfit was the last to take to the course tonight and as such their triumph made for a nail-biting climax to the stage.

World team time-trial champions Omega Pharma-Quick Step sat atop the standings for much of the action, before being toppled by the Radioshack-Leopard outfit of time-trialling powerhouse Fabian Cancellara.

But the well-marshalled Astana unit ultimately managed to claim the glory, arriving home ten seconds ahead of Radioshack to propel Brajkovic into the red jersey. Nibali will begin tomorrow in second place.

But there will be no bedding-in period for the Italian as the first mountain-top finish arrives on tomorrow’s 178 kilometre run from Pontevedra to the top of the first-category Alto do Monte da Groba. It will also provide an early snapshot of the condition of the Irish duo, with plenty of punishing terrain left to come.

@gavmcloughlin