A pancake flat 25 kilometre long time trial from Sorbolo Mezzani to Guastalla lay ahead of the riders at the Giro Ciclistico d’Italia this afternoon. Despite a few sharp twists and turns out on course, it would be a route that would suit the powerful specialists against the clock.

Marius Mayrhofer and Gianmarco Garofoli would both set strong early times out on course. Flying around the route and maintaining a high top speed, Mayrhofer crossed the line in 30 minutes and 17 seconds, with teammate Garofoli just a further four seconds behind that with an effort of 30 minutes and 21 seconds. Initially slotting into the top five, they would slip slightly further down the order as other riders completed their TT. The last rider down the ramp for Development Team DSM would be Henri Vandenabeele, with the Belgian giving it his all around the course, stopping the clock in 30 minutes and 41 seconds.

Tomorrow sees the race head for the climbs and a copy of the finish to Sestola that was used in this year’s Giro d’Italia.

“It was actually my first TT at Under 23 level so I wasn’t sure how it would go today,” explained Mayrhofer. “We knew that I was in good shape because in the flat part of the stages in the first three days I felt strong. We wanted to start fast and see how I would go in the opening section. I then gave it my all in the final and overall I’m quite happy with the TT today.”

Team DSM coach Bennie Lambregts added: “I think all of the guys did a good job out there today. Marius was our fastest rider with Gianmarco not too far behind him, both putting in good rides. Henri also produced a good ride, finishing roughly one minute down on the winner and 30 seconds behind the race leader, which leaves us in a good place as the race heads towards the hills. The TT today shows that we’re all riding well here as a team, and we’re looking forward to the coming days.”