So we open with a team time test which is 24.8 km long and we have two intermediate checks (1st at 10.4km and 2nd at 20km).
We are going to get serious quite quickly as after a random draw earlier one of the top favourites for the day ING - Pro Cycling Team are drawn to go first.
Fiedler, Van Winden, Sicard, Zabriskie, Navardauskas, Clement, Bouet and Rolland - this team really are a fantastic bunch of TTists. In Sicard they have a big hope for GC and this is very much a test of their credentials for the opening day TTT for the Tour de France itself.
Speaking of the Tour a big favourite for this race this year is Spilak and his Festina team are amongst the early starters also.
Festina have has a decent all round squad in the last couple of years and whilst Contador gave the Vuelta a good shot last, this is really their best chance of a GT success this year. Spilak will be a big favourite here at Paris Nice also. Today is possibly about damage limitation they do have good chrono men in Dees, Bernaudeau and Vlatos but they look lightweight compared to som other teams. Indeed as we get our first time check this looks the case up against ING.
Indeed ING have the lead from the early starters - it is a little surprising to see the 7 man Prio - Porto squad almost matching Festina at this stage. That said their team leader Fothen has been at the front of their team for most of the first 10km.
Plenty more decent squads to come.
Becherovka - Kiwibank have a good TTT team, they will be looking to carry climber Rujano (who is a better chrono man than some climbers) and the talked up Velits to a decent finish.
Wikipedia are another team who have a good TTT set up, they have a fairly modest squad here at Paris Nice but today they have outside podium chances.
Of course for anyone to beat ING they will need a minor miracle. Both Wikipedia and Becherovka have done well to nearly match ING at the first check but the second check is seeing ING really pull away.
We can see here that by check 2 the affect of smaller teams is really starting to accumulate, particularly for the six man Santander squad. But also turn arounds are possible with the solid all round Pendleton's outfit improving for the second check.
Thus far ING are dominent but the wind which started off this morning strong has eased off a bit and now a team clad all in red are ripping up the course.
Vesuvio - Accumalux manage to go through the first check in exactly the same time as ING, a fabulous effort from this team for Andy Schleck thus far.
ING certainly have dominated the early proceedings but they are now under some pressure from Vesuvio and another good all round TTT set up at Team Bpost - Vlaanderen
This is a team more well known for the classics, but with Cornu and a number of other good chrono men joining team leader Van Den Brouck they have done brilliantly on the first half of the course. However it is what they can do on the second half which counts. The ING team are beginning to feel all 'squeaky bum' as another team manages to duplicate their Chrono one time.
Team B&O have a decent team chrono history and once again the sum of their parts are perhaps eclipsing their individual.
However the true headline at the next check is getting not the Scandanavians excited - it has the Flemish commentary coughing up plenty of spit as they hammer out plenty of excited clicks and coo's.
Bpost are matching ING here in a brilliant display coming through the second check. Vesuvio perhaps expectedly have dropped back.
But what is this a team in red have flashed past the commentary box and have sensationally posted a superb new BEST finish time. The look of stun on the ING boys faces is quite the picture.
What's more it is not Vesuvio but the other team who were 21 seconds back on ING at the 20km check - it is Swisscom - UBS who have engineered an amazing 27 seconds swing in 4.8 kilometres.
Vesuvio also come through having made up a small amount of time on ING, they will feel happy enough with their performance. But taken aback at how Nibali's crew have done. The Italian himself led the team over and it was high fives all round.
It is certainly an upset here.
Meanwhile some nods of quiet impressment around the galley with Tinkoff Credit Systems Bank who have gone around the course setting times within the top 10.
Indeed they can be pleased with splitting the experienced ProTour outfits Wikipedia and Becherovka.
Just behind them in comes Bpost, perhaps the last realistic challengers to Swissbank. Van Den Broeck struggles to hang on and they just miss out.
Still a strong effort from Bpost who maintained that one second on ING but have not found the special lines and power of Swisscom. More times roll in but none of the late starters have the strength to threaten the leaderboard bar B and O who slot into 4th place ahead of Vesuvio which is a good performance.
Indeed the sports journalists can begin to write their stories for the next day.
It proved a very tight first half of the course with four teams seemingly in contention.
But Swisscom held their strength brilliantly and started to come through by the second check.
Before taking an amazing stage one victory eclipsing the heavily favoured ING outfit. A good performance by Bpost too to relegate ING to third place.
Rank
Team
Time
1
Swisscom - UBS
32'29
2
Team Bpost - Vlaanderen
+ 5
3
ING - Pro Cycling Team
+ 7
4
Team B&O
+ 18
5
Vesuvio - Accumalux
+ 23
6
Wikipedia
+ 40
7
Tinkoff Credit Systems Bank
+ 45
8
Becherovka - Kiwibank
+ 50
9
Good Energy
+ 54
10
Pendleton's
s.t.
11
Team Vueling Airlines
+ 56
12
Simply Red Bull
+ 1'00
13
Bouygues Telecom
+ 1'01
14
Rothaus - Aegon
+ 1'05
15
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
16
Prio - Porto
+ 1'13
17
Lotto - Australia Post
s.t.
18
Project 1t4i
+ 1'20
19
Gazelle
+ 1'21
20
VolksWagen-Mapei
+ 1'25
21
Aker-MOT
+ 2'02
22
Santander
+ 3'09
23
Pokerstars.com
+ 3'13
GC
Nibali led his team over the line - he needed a great ride from his team and boy did he get it.
