Welcome to day #1 of the 2022 "Course au Soleil", which is part of the Pro Tour's triple clash in February. It's indeed partly sunny, but still pretty cold - which is quite normal in winter, though.
Today's prologue will be held very close to, but not really in Paris itself. Instead, we're some kilometers North-West, in Houilles, situated on some kind of a peninsula formed by the Seine river.
3 kilometers, including two 90-degree turns and close to zero elevation difference - perfect terrain for some tempo riders! Hence we get the expected names topping today's favorites list: Kemboi, Leung and Larsen. Next are GC top favorite Lecuisinier, his former teammate Coquard and Jungels. Giannoutsos, Bernal, Korsaeth and De Bod round off the list. We've already seen though that those short time trials can always yield surprise winners, so let's see who really walks away with the stage win and the first leader jersey on top!
Swift is the first one to launch his race, and he obviously sets the first reference time - 3'58".
However, that one doesn't last very long, as oldie Spilak improves this mark by 3" - 3'55".
Rather surprisingly, Van Poucke lowers that time by another 2", setting the current leading time to 3'53".
Stimulak actually is a specialist for longer races against the clock, but he looks to have a decent day today - new best mark at 3'52", another second faster.
And we go down one more second again, as Sendeku posts 3'51".
Not quite the best time, but just 2" slower is Miltiadis - 4th in 3'53", a decent performance.
We then already have Grieg's GC captain out on the road - and Vingegaard does a good job. He matches the current leading time, but is some fractions slower than Sendeku - 3'51".
Lampawog then surprisingly takes the lead, besting our co-leaders by one second - 3'50"!
However, he doesn't have much time to take place on the hot seat, as Rikunov pretty much smashes his time, being 3" faster - which considering the current gaps is a big margin! 3'47" is the new reference time.
Silvestre is one of the strongest prologue riders among the sprinters, but didn't make the day's favorite list. He wants to prove the bookies wrong - and narrowly misses out on the lead, by some fractions of a second only! 3'47" for him as well.
Sequera doesn't get close to that time, but still gets a decent 4th place at the moment - 3'51".
With Kirsch, we now have EA Vesuvio's GC hope starting his race - and he ends today's stage exactly 3'51" later, just like Sequera before him. 5th place for the Luxembourger.
Georgian TT champion Nareklishvili is another rider who could have been on today's favorite list, but missed out - he does however not miss out on the best time, lowering the current mark by another second: 3'46"
We continue with another early-starting GC leader in Roglic. He may have speculated for some bad weather later on - but that didn't work out: 22nd place only, 11 seconds down - 3'57".
Strakhov then surprises almost everyone here, taking current 4th place - 3'49".
The first out of three Frenchies being listed as potential GC favorites now approaches the red kite - and while Pinot can't keep up with the best times as expected, he still matches Roglic's time: 3'57", current 26th place.
We have a much stronger time then posted by Meintjes - very, very strong to be precise, as he just loses one second, matching Rikunov and Silvestre, but slotting in behind them: 4th place, 3'47".
And we get that time again, with Pszczolarski being the fourth rider finishing in 3'47" - but it's only the 5th place for the Pole.
Jungels is one of today's stage favorites - but unlike those who weren't and did well, he was on that list but didn't have the legs. Only provisional 11th place for him in 3'51".
Next is again a positive surprise though, as Rachid finishes only 2" down - 6th place for him in 3'48"!
And believe it or not, but we have a new stage leader! Knox was riding the prologue of his life and improves the current mark by yet another second - new reference time: 3'45"!
With that upset result, we now have about half of the racers in. Let's take a look at the provisional Top10:
Houilles
1.
Knox
3'45"
6.
Pszczolarski
+ 2"
2.
Nareklishvili
+ 1"
7.
Rachid
+ 3"
3.
Rikunov
+ 2"
8.
Strakhov
+ 4"
4.
Silvestre
+ 2"
9.
Lampawog
+ 5"
5.
Meintjes
+ 2"
10.
Konychev
+ 5"
Sorry for having missed Konychev; Majka and Osorio actually finished with the same time as well.
That's something we still have to get used to - Pluchkin no longer wearing the team's #1 bib in a stage race. The ageing wildcard rider still has something left in his legs, though - although it's not enough to take over the lead. 7th place in 3'48".
Next up is one of today's three top favorites - and Leung doesn't disappoint. Although he doesn't manage to ride the final bend in the aero position, he still posts a new best time, beating Knox not by one, not by two, but by three seconds - 3'42"!
Mraouni has a very solid ride as well, losing only 5". Unfortunately, he slots in behind all the others posting the same time, so that's 8th place with 3'47".
We then get the exact same time - yet some fractions slower - from Peak. 9th place for him then, 3'47".
Giannoutsos is the next rider who was on the extended favorites list - but the Greek didn't have his best day. He even misses out on the provisional Top10 - 11th in 3'48".
He even drops one spot further, as we have the next pre-stage favorite, Norwegian TT champion Korsaeth crossing the line. However, it's not enough to get close to the lead, joining the 3'47" group - but in last position, which is 10th currently.
Then it's time again for some GC contenders, with Formolo being the first of this trio. Time trials are not his main strength by any means, but he does rather well to limit the damage to 10 seconds - 3'52", which makes him end up just outside the provisional Top30.
It's then green light for Madrazo - but will it also be green time? He gets pretty close, but no. He still beats his teammate Silvestre, to take provisional 4th place and dropping just 4" - 3'46". Which is also 1" faster than Meintjes and hence the strongest time of a GC contender so far!
Chiarello is a solid time trialist as well - but not today! He's 15" off the best time, even outside the Top75 - it looks like ELCO - ABEA should check their TT equipment!
We're entering the decisive part of the stage, with only 2 riders left per team. But there's no time to breathe - especially not for our leader - as it often gets really close. This is no different when Atkins crosses the line - but he's 4" off the pace as well, 5th place in 3'46".
With De Bod, we have another dangerous outsider on the road now - but he won't be happy with 3'51", which is 9" slower than Leung and outside the Top30!
Carthy, despite being a great climber, will probably only have a supporting role in this race - at least he doesn't manage to get close to the best GC riders so far. Barely inside the Top100, 15" back. Only one spot behind Chiarello, though...
Before we enter the final round - one rider left per team, and not the most irrelevant ones - let's take another look at the current Top10:
Houilles
1.
Leung
3'42"
6.
Rikunov
+ 5"
2.
Knox
+ 3"
7.
Silvestre
+ 5"
3.
Nareklishvili
+ 4"
8.
Meintjes
+ 5"
4.
Madrazo
+ 4"
9.
Pszczolarski
+ 5"
5.
Atkins
+ 4"
10.
Mraouni
+ 5"
We actually jump the first two teams, and already get to the next Moser - Sygic rider, as Warchol kicks his race off. No specialist by any means, so he'll probably be happy with losing 13" - 3'55" for him, just inside the Top75.
While the Pole was a GC rider, Larsen mainly came here for today's stage! The Dane does a good job, even a very good one - but still ends up some fractions of a second behind Leung! 3'42" for him as well, but the timekeepers rank him in 2nd place. Tough luck!
We're back in GC mode then, but it's not a good start for Inkelaar. He's 21 seconds down, which places him in the bottom 25 riders of the day.
But guess who's even slower? Yeah, indeed, that's Team Popo4Ever's new designated stage race leader Padun. Although everyone knows he doesn't like the races against the clock, losing 22" today is too much - and that's also 16" behind Pluchkin... Leadership discussions upcoming?
Foss definitely isn't among the top favorites for the GC, but he could be in for a good result in the U25 standings. And he starts his mission well, ending up just in the Top20 and losing 6" - 3'48".
Another U25 candidate is Sosa, who however isn't his team's undisputed leader. He's a rather mediocre time trialist, and that shows - he takes the 100th place for now, 16" back.
I don't know what Olivier is doing here, but it doesn't look like a very aerodynamic position. Whether it's this situation or his legs in general, the time isn't great anyway. Barely inside the Top100 with 3'57" - 15" off the pace.
Barguil doesn't quite have the ideal position on his TT bike either, but at least he goes 2" faster and just ends up in the provisional Top75. 3'55" for him.
But finally Kemboi shows them how it's done, taking the last corner heading onto the final 1,000 meters in perfect position! He's here for the stage win, being listed as the top favorite - and he indeed is very fast! Too fast for everyone else so far - 3'40", which is 2" faster than Leung and Larsen!
Only 6 to go! Morton is the first of them - and while actually being decent against the clock, something must have gone wrong today! He loses 15" to Kemboi, and ends up right behind Warchol and Barguil - not a good day for the Australian!
Dombrowski is slightly slower on the TT bike, but not today! He's just 1" faster, but that's still one second gained on some competitors. Not the best, not the worst result, an OK day for him.
U25 favorite Bernal also has an OK day - but given his TT skills that means a much stronger time than the previous duo. 22nd place for him, 8" behind Kemboi in 3'48".
Three riders left on the road - two sprinters and the top GC favorite, which is the first one of them at the finish line! But while Lecuisinier does pretty well - finishing 16th and losing 7" - we was surely hoping for more. It's a missed opportunity to put some time into his GC rivals - instead actually losing 1" to Madrazo.
Road World Champion Gaviria then literally throws his bike across the finish line, squeezing out everything - it's however just 24th place for him, 8" off the pace in 3'48". Given the big difference in skill and the 1" gap on the road compared to Lecuisinier, it's clear who of the two can be happier today...
And the skill difference with the last starter - Coquard - is even bigger - so big that the latter is one of the stage favorites! And probably one of the most disappointed riders tonight, as he finishes with the same time as but even one spot behind Gaviria! Clearly, ELCO - ABEA have some issues with their TT bikes...
That's actually the end of the stage! Everyone has finished, and Salem Kemboi celebrates a commanding win! He takes this stage ahead of Leung and Larsen - which is exactly the order predicted by the bookies on the first 3 spots! Has that ever happened before in a prologue?
And here he is, congratulations to Salem Kemboi! He didn't have the best start to the season, having barely any success in Qatar, but today clearly is a fantastic day for him and De Stijl Cycling! Stage win, leader and points jersey, plus the team standings - fantastic job!
But he wasn't the only rider doing well today, so let's take a look at the Top 20:
Houilles
1.
Salem Kemboi
3'40"
11.
Wojciech Pszczolarski
+ 7"
2.
Chun Wing Leung
+ 2"
12.
Salah Eddine Mraouni
+ 7"
3.
Niklas Larsen
+ 2"
13.
Barnabas Peak
+ 7"
4.
James Knox
+ 5"
14.
Truls Engen Korsaeth
+ 7"
5.
Giorgi Nareklishvili
+ 6"
15.
Ivano Lo Cicero
+ 7"
6.
Angel Madrazo
+ 6"
16.
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier
+ 7"
7.
Josh Atkins
+ 6"
17.
Aleksandr Pluchkin
+ 8"
8.
Petr Rikunov
+ 7"
18.
Miltiadis Giannoutsos
+ 8"
9.
Fabio Silvestre
+ 7"
19.
Kristofer Gunnlaugsson
+ 8"
10.
Louis Meintjes
+ 7"
20.
Eriks Toms Gavars
+ 8"
Of course, the GC is exactly the same as the stage result today, and the Top 15 of the points standings are the same as well.
Furthermore, De Stijl Cycling are the clear leaders of the team classification - with 3 riders in the Top 10, this is barely surprising. They're 8" ahead of Grieg-Maersk; Evonik - ELKO in 3rd are 10" down.
In terms of GC riders, Madrazo was the fastest today, gaining 1" on Meintjes and Lecuisinier, while Pluchkin and Bernal both lost 2". That's not much, but every second may be decisive in the end!
However, we still get to see someone else standing on the podium. The first leader in the U25 standings is Niklas Larsen, 3rd of the day and best young rider. Petr Rikunov and Barnabas Peak both lost 5" today and are his closest chasers.
That's all for today. We'll have a nice little sprinter stage tomorrow, and many of them are lined up well - Gaviria, Coquard, Ewan, Silvestre and Lo Cicero are within just 8" of the race lead, while some more are less than 20" back. But Kemboi will obviously try to defend the jersey, being a great sprinter himself - stay tuned for some good action tomorrow!
Paris - Nice 
