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Orica wins team time trial on opening day of Giro d’Italia as Tuft takes lead on his birthday

May 09 2014 05:37 AM

CP28307494 — Team Katusha make their way along the Newtownards road past a Loyalist mural during a practice run in the team time trial in east Belfast, Northern Ireland, Friday, May, 9, 2014. The Giro d\'Italia will hold three stages in Ireland, starting in Belfast on May 9th with stage 1 team time trial followed by stage two along the Antrim coast and stage 3 finishing in Dublin on May 11th. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Original Publication Date: May 9, 2014 5:37AM

Publication Updated: January 8, 2025 11:16PM

BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Canadian Svein Tuft powered Orica Green-Edge to victory in the team time trial in Belfast in the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday, taking the overall leader’s pink jersey on his 37th birthday.

Orica, which was the overwhelming stage favourite, clocked a time of 24 minutes, 42 seconds along the 21.7-kilometre (13.5-mile) course, which was lined by more than 140,000 fans.

The Australian team benefited from starting second and avoiding most of the rain that fell later.

Omega Pharma-QuickStep finished second, five seconds behind Orica, beating third-place BMC by just two seconds. Cadel Evans looked strong for BMC and is one of the favourites after last year’s third-place finish.

Irish cyclist Dan Martin’s Giro could be over after a crash left him with a suspected broken collarbone.

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