Cervélo TestTeam rode safely to open the 2010 Giro d'Italia, avoiding mishaps on a technical, rain-slickened individual time trial course through the heart of downtown Amsterdam on Saturday. Team captain Carlos Sastre (ESP) limited his losses against the specialists on the 8.4km course, stopping the clock in 42nd place at 25 seconds slower than the best time of 10 minutes, 18 seconds. Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU) led Cervélo, finishing 18th at 15 seconds behind stage-winner Bradley Wiggins. Giro rookie Marcel Wyss (SUI) also rode well, stopping the clock 17 seconds slower for 23rd. Xavier Tondo (ESP) rode well early, posting the second-best time among the front runners before settling in for 31st at 21 seconds off the winning pace. "This test has been really important for me and frankly, I'm feeling happy. Losing 25 seconds to a rider like Wiggins in a prologue like this one, which has been such a powerful stage, and being a few seconds behind important riders like Ivan Basso who will be my direct adversaries in the mountain stages, is a positive result," said Sastre, after finishing the first time trial stage of the 2010 Giro. Today's was undoubtedly a gauntlet stage for the Cervélo leader. "After so much time without many competitions to gauge my fitness level and with only the training series that I've done to guide me, I needed to know how I would do against my rivals."

The winner of the 2008 Tour has finished feeling satisfied with his start to the race. "This Giro has begun with a spectacular prologue in Amsterdam. It was such a pretty route, the first part of which was pretty technical and the second part was pure power. The weather was so-so but I was lucky enough to ride on a practically dry road surface, which I think has definitely been an advantage to me," he admitted.

"Now we have to focus on the race. We've got some busy and difficult stages tomorrow and the following day and now we need to recover and keep pushing forward in this Italian Giro", concluded the Spanish cyclist. "It was a really nice prologue course. They did a good job designing the course in a big city like Amsterdam. It was safe, but the corners were difficult because you didn't know how fast to go into them due to the rain," Tondo said. "I am feeling good and it was nice to finally start the Giro. We are all here to help Carlos. You don't want to take too many risks in a course like this. You want to conserve energy and be strong in the final week in the mountains." Despite light rain and cool temperatures, Amsterdam really turned out in force to support the race. Hundreds of fans packed in around the Cervélo team bus before the start to catch a glimpse of the riders while they warmed up for the time trial. Huge crowds lined the 8.4km course through the heart of Amsterdam. Cervélo general manager Joop Alberda said it's no surprise why the Dutch have taken so warmly to the Giro. "Holland is a cycling country, so having the Giro start in Amsterdam is a big event. There are more bikes than people in Holland. This is a sport that people have in their daily lives, so they really come out to support an event like the Giro," Alberda said. "It's fascinating that Holland will host the start of all three grand tours within two years. Amsterdam is already a huge success with the Giro and it will be even bigger with the Tour de France starting in Rotterdam." The 93rd Giro d'Italia continues Sunday with the 210km second stage from Amsterdam to Utrecht. The route is mostly flat, though there are two rated climbs midway through the race that serve nothing more than to be able to award the best climber's jersey. "These first stages can be nervous, so we want to help to keep Carlos out of trouble," Tondo said. "We don't have a big sprinter here, so we are going to ride conservative and save our strength these first days. The most important thing is to avoid some sort of crash or losing time." Wind and narrow roads could make for a tricky day, but this one has sprint finish written all over it. Stage 1 - 8.4km Amsterdam - Amsterdam (ITT) 1 Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
2 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team Cervelo TestTeam
18 Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU)
23 Marcel Wyss (SUI)
31 Xavier Tondo (ESP)
42 Carlos Sastre (ESP)
72 Ted King (USA)
76 Daniel Lloyd (GBR)
97 Iñigo Cuesta (ESP)
141 Gabriel Rasch (NOR)
183 Volodimir Gustov (UKR)