A 4.7 kilometre long time trial got the Tour de Suisse underway on Sunday afternoon, in the Liechtenstein capital of Vaduz. Although the route took place on narrow roads, there were only really four turns of note throughout the course; making it one for the specialists over the short distance. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL’s first rider down the ramp, Frank van den Broek, would actually go on to set the team’s best effort of the day, stopping the clock in five minutes and 18 seconds. Pavel Bittner and Oscar Onley also weren’t far behind the young Dutchman on the course, finishing their efforts a further four and six seconds in arrears respectively.
Speaking after the stage Van den Broek said: “Oscar and I traveled to Switzerland straight after a three-week high altitude training camp on Tenerife with the team. It was my first ever camp like that, so I was not sure how I would feel in this short effort and also what to expect for my first competitive TT this season. I gave it a good crack and was happily surprised with the result I got in the end so we can take this with us into the next days here.”
