One of the early pacesetters is Samoan-champion Darren YOUNG. He has provided some much needed Pasifika representation in the peloton for many years now, but age is starting to catch up with him. For now he has set us a representative time of 6'21", perhaps harmed by the slight rise into the finish that the eagle-eyed among you might have spotted.
Here is that climb from the other end, just about to be tackled by Domenic WEINSTEIN. His team, Euskotren - Pays Basque, are almost certainly benefiting from expanding the scope of their recruitment. WEINSTEIN is a nicely well-rounded athlete, who moves in to the hotseat at 6'18".
It is quite possible that the bookies didn't turn their mind towards contemplating the impacts of the slight rise in the finale on the favourites for this parcour. If the peloton was merely contemplating a flat and twisty prologue, it would be hard to look further than Nils SCHOMBER. Indeed, even though his heft isn't well-suited to fighting against gravity, there is enough power to lower the time to beat down to 6'12".
With any luck, Tim VAN DIJKE will provide a definitive answer as to the importance of uphill punch. The Dutch youth is in the process of growing into a strong rouleur, capable of traversing the travails thrown up by a prologue but also not afraid of smaller rises. He can only manage a 6'21", although his ride was potentially hampered by the changeable conditions.
If we don't need to be concerning ourselves with the puncheurs then we can return our focus to the specialists. Next up to the plate is Atsushi OKA. He is the first of the non-teenage, somewhat-mutant, (prologue) ninja turtles. Much to his dismay, those credentials are not enough to displace SCHOMBER. Instead he settles in with a 6'14".
Another rider identified as a potential pre-race favourite was Luca STERBINI. He has more of a diesel engine than the high-revving two-strokes of the specialists, so he struggles along to a 6'17".
Maybe we were overly eager in setting aside the stage racers. Ziga RUCIGAJ isn't exactly the normal pick for four days of flat racing, but his rather unique skillset has rendered him particularly well-suited for this parcour. He sneaks in a 6'14" that moves him ahead of OKA on milliseconds.
Emilien VIENNET comes through with a 6'13". While we were busy following the former French TT champion, Nils POLITT snuck in an equivalent time, that the adjudicators have ruled to be just fractionally slower.
There has been a long gap now without any change at the top of the charts. A couple of riders have come close, most notably James ORAM and Metkel KIFLAY, both of whom came within a second of the lead. Now we're watching Ion IZAGIRRE. Very much one of the elder statesmen of the Continental Tour, his unique status as a puncheur who can TT might offer something different today. Unfortunately, despite really hammering it up the climb, he can only manage a time of 6'23".
Another turtle tackles the course, this one bearing his national colours. Today's course takes the riders north and then east. There has been a persistent south-westerly throughout proceedings. Faycal HAMZA, though, has benefited from the rising strength of those gusts. They've carried him to a 6'07".
As if to confirm just how impactful the weather can be here, the times immediately start tumbling. Martijn KEIZER snatches a spot on the provisional podium with a 6'10". Tristan JUSSAUME, of whom we just barely capture the back of, comes through in 6'12 — he is eligible for the U25 competition.
The final major challenger for the youth jersey is Leo HAYTER. The young Briton has the misfortune to make his way onto the course only once the winds have begun to die down. In the end he is more than 5" away from challenging for the provisional lead of that classification.
For a while it looked as though the quieter air would mean that the competition for the stage victory was over. Was that brief moment where the gusts picked up really going to decide this one? No. His glory days might be behind him at this point, but Rohan DENNIS is still a very capable competitor. In fact, he storms up the hill in just 6'06", knocking HAMZA off his perch. Amidst the excitement, Maani ALTANZUL slid his way on to the provisional podium off camera.
There are just a handful of riders who will be looking to compete in each and every stage here in Uppsala. The first to hit the course is Luke KEOUGH. Yes, yet another turtle. This one doesn't have such a great day, and loses 9".
Then there is Chinese national TT champion, Jingbiao ZHAO. He fights his way up the hill, his bulky sprinter's body not made for such an exquisite incline. He loses 11", so still in touching distance of the overall lead.
The final rider of note is Dylan KENNETT. Most teams elected to send their sprinters onto the course last, so we've seen many riders ambitions of overall victory come to an end as their losses are simply too great. Not KENNETT though. No, he has sniffed out an opportunity and stuns everybody by finishing within 3" of DENNIS. Given the Aussie isn't likely to be picking up bonus seconds from the sprints, it is hard to look past the Kiwi when it comes to thinking of favourites to take the win once we return to Uppsala in three days time.
