Britain's Geraint Thomas will start Wednesday's stage two of the Tour de Romandie in the yellow jersey of the overall leader, after Team Sky finished less than a second ahead of Orica-GreenEdge to win the stage one team time trial.
The British team were the last to set out on the 19.2km course, with defending champion Chris Froome in their ranks, with Orica having set a time of 21-19 earlier in the day.
Neither current world team time trial champions BMC or two-time winners Etixx - Quick-Step could match the pace of the Australian squad, finishing in fourth and sixth respectively before Sky came across the line.
Overall hopeful Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) will begin the hilly 168.1km stage two with a deficit of 17 seconds to Froome, while Nairo Quintana will need to overhaul 40 seconds to the 2013 Tour de France winner after a disappointing showing from his Movistar team.
Results
Tour de Romandie, stage one: Vallée de Joux – Juraparc, 19.2km TTT
1. Team Sky (Gbr) in 21-19 (54.042kmph)
2. Orica-GreenEdge (Aus) st
3. Team Katusha (Rus) at 5 seconds
4. Etixx - Quick-Step (Bel) at 14 seconds
5. Astana (Kaz) at 17 seconds
6. BMC (USA) at 19 seconds
7. FDJ (Fra) at 22 seconds
8. IAM Cycling (Sui) at 24 seconds
9. Movistar (Esp) at 40 seconds
10. Cannondale-Garmin (USA) st
Overall Classification after stage one
1. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky at 21-19
2. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky st
3. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky st
4. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky st
5. Christopher Froome (Gbr) Team Sky st
6. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Team Sky st
7. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica-GreenEdge st
8. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge st
9. Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge st
10. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Orica-GreenEdge st
Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.
An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).
-
-
Last lap crash denies Tom Pidcock chance of victory at X2O Badkamers Flandriencross
Pidcock contests his final races this weekend before the World Championships next Sunday
-
Vaccination rates of teams vary between 40 to 100 per cent as UCI updates Covid rules ahead of new season
Cycling's governing body conducted a survey over the winter and said the response was 'satisfactory'
-
Ineos Grenadiers enlist Dan Bigham to bring F1 engineering to bike racing
The Englishman will be allowed to ride time-trials as well as helping the team with aerodynamics
-
Zwift gives riders the chance to join six week Ineos Grenadiers 'virtual training camp'
Using Zwift, riders can join in 12 events over six weeks from January
-
Rohan Dennis says he moved to Jumbo-Visma because Ineos Grenadiers were copying 'a lot of stuff' from Dutch team
Australian time-trialist will be part of Jumbo-Visma's Tour de France squad
-
Egan Bernal signs five-year deal with Ineos Grenadiers
The new contract will keep the Colombian at the team until the end of 2026
-
Riders show off their new team kits for 2022
Elia Viviani, João Almeida and Elisa Balsamo among riders in new jerseys this year
-
Richie Porte targets Giro d'Italia one more time
Australian says Ineos Grenadiers want him to enjoy his last professional season
-
WorldTour riders still yet to confirm a contract for 2022
Some riders have yet to put pen to paper for the 2022 season and have almost run out of time to impress
-
Egan Bernal would rather win Vuelta a España than another Tour de France - but will obey team orders
Giro d'Italia champion says Ineos Grenadiers want him to ride Tour
