OK, they are interesting and all but to start a Grand Tour with a TTT really disadvantages so many GC riders - well, mostly the sprinters in the less-evenly-balanced teams. It's fine if you are a strong TT team with plenty of riders prepared to give it their all, but what if you are a sprinter who wants to conserve a bit for later in the week? Or a climber with similar ambitions? Yes, I know, it doesn't matter how you start, someone will be set-back by the nature of "the thing". It's just to me a TTT is "the thing" I like least! If it came later in the Giro it'd make for an interesting reshuffle (but I'd still hate it).
That gripe aside, it's nice to see Slipstream and Vandevelde win. From CN: Scooping its biggest ever win and simultaneously propelling Christian Vande Velde into the first American maglia rosa since Andy Hampsten 20 years ago, Slipstream Chipotle H30 thundered to team time trial success on day one of the Giro d'Italia.
