Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) finished a close second to Luke Durbridge on the prologue stage of the 2012 Criterium du Dauphiné.
Wiggins lost out by only one second to the Australian Luke Durbridge (Orice-GreenEDGE) on a 5.7km loop in the centre of Grenoble.
As defending champion, Wiggins was last of the 175 starters and faced much stiffer wind conditions than the stage winner.
Wiggins said he was content with second place on the prologue of a race where his focus is the overall classification.
“I’m just pleased it stayed dry really because it’s never nice riding a prologue in the rain. It was perfect. I stayed safe and I’m where I want to be at the moment and I’m just trying to enjoy it.
“It’s always the same with prologues. With riders going three hours apart there’s always different conditions. The wind changed massively today. Some guys had disadvantages on the course elsewhere at the start and also advantages. That changed and you can’t really compare rides. At the end of the day the result is the result and that’s just the pick of prologues.”
Durbridge, still only 23, and celebrating his first major victory, was even more upbeat, describing his victory as the most important of his career.
After taking the lead from Andriy Grivko (Astana) he had to endure 90 minutes before learning his time had survived the onslaught of some of the best riders in professional cycling.
“I didn’t worry about the riders that were to come too much,” he said.
“There were about ten of us together, and when Wiggins was out on the course, we worked out the time he would need to have to come through the final corner to unseat me.
“He came through at the time we had identified, so we knew it would be close. When he crossed the line one second down, the bus erupted. It was a really special moment.”
Of the elite riders contesting the Criterium this year, and Wiggins and three others finished in the top 10.
World time trial champion, and 2011 Paris-Nice winner, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) was fifth, winner of this year’s Tour Down Under and Milan San Remo, Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE), was seventh, and defending Tour de France champion, Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) was ninth.
Andy Schleck finished in 102nd place, 29 seconds down on Durbridge, suggesting his time trialing has not improved since the last time he raced the clock in Grenoble, when he lost the lead of the 2011 Tour de France on the penultimate stage.
Wiggins, with victories already this season in Paris-Nice and the Tour of Romandie, said after the Criterium’s prologue he was relaxed about July’s big race.
“We’re getting close now. It’s always nice when the goal is coming up. We’ve done all the work now and it’s been a long process. We’re four weeks away from the Tour now so there’s not much training to do. It’s nice that that’s all done and we can race now.
Criterium du Dauphine – result
1) Luke Durbridge (AUS) – Orica-GreenEDGE – 6:38
2) Bradley Wiggins (GBR) – Team Sky +1”
3) Andriy Grivko (UKR) – Astana +3”
4) Carlos Barredo (SPA) – Rabobank
5) Tony Martin (GER) – Omega Pharma-QuickStep +5”
6) Simon Gerrans (AUS) – Orica GreenEDGE
7) Paul Martens (GER) – Rabobank
8) Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) – Omega Pharma-Quickstep +6”
9) Cadel Evans (AUS) – BMC Racing
10) Andrey Amador (CRc) – Movistar
General classification
1) Luke Durbridge (AUS) – Orica-GreenEDGE – 6:38
2) Bradley Wiggins (GBR) – Team Sky +1”
3) Andriy Grivko (UKR) – Astana +3”
4) Carlos Barredo (SPA) – Rabobank
5) Tony Martin (GER) – Omega Pharma-QuickStep +5”
6) Simon Gerrans (AUS) – Orica GreenEDGE
7) Paul Martens (GER) – Rabobank
8) Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) – Omega Pharma-Quickstep +6”
9) Cadel Evans (AUS) – BMC Racing
10) Andrey Amador (CRc) – Movistar
