CANYON//SRAM Racing have taken second place in the opening stage of Energiewacht Tour last night in Groningen, Netherlands. The five rider squad was last onto the course and finished the 11.3 kilometre circuit in a time of 14:29.  Boels Dolman were fastest in 14:09, while Orica GreenEDGE finished third in 14:30.

Earlier rain made for wet conditions as the first team left the start ramp at 19:00 local time. Park Hotel cycling team held the fastest time of 15:06 until the Dutch Boels Dolman team, who finished with four riders, surpassed them. RaboLiv finished with six riders in a time of 14:39 to take fourth place overall. CANYON//SRAM Racing rode a strong race, with an average speed of 46.811km/hr to take second.

Team Director Sportif Ronny Lauke said he was satisfied with the team’s performance. “This is the point zero for all teams to see where they are at for the team time trial. It’s the same for us as it is for the other teams too. Teams now have a better idea of what to work on and areas to improve. It’s not a surprise that Boels Dolman won, given their dominance so far in the season. We had no expectations going into last night’s stage. We had to find ourselves and our starting point is with this group of riders. Second is okay, although the time gap is quite big.”

Lisa Brennauer will wear the green Points jersey going into stage two this afternoon. Starting at 15:15 CEST the race is over five laps of a 23.8 kilometre circuit around the town of Winsum. Follow the racing action on the team’s twitter @WMNcycling using #EWT16.

Stage 2: Winsum – Winsum, 15:15 CEST, 116.8km,

Stage 3: Stadskanaal – Stadskanaal, 12:00 CEST 131.9km

Stage 4a: Zuidhorn – Zuidhorn, 10:00 CEST, 75.4km

Stage 4b Individual Time Trial: Leek, 15:00 CEST, 13.6km

Stage 5: Borkum – Borkum, 12:30, 119.3km

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