VakantieZon's Philip Hostede took the honours in an eventful Porto Prologue as one of the favourites crashed in controversial circumstances.
The timetrial expert was in good form as he set a blazing time early in the day before scattered showers moved in to add an extra element to the race.
It wasn't until halfway through the stage when Team Jochem's Jahn Rosenlund took advantage of a dry spell to finish only four seconds adrift.
With several timetrial specialists like Salvino Zubeldia of YuriSuperteam and Luther Mars of Super Bros yet to start, the spectators were hopeful of more nailbiting action to come. However, they could not have imagined what would happen next.
Ian Defley of Dodge had barely made it through a third of the course when his bike skidded on a pool of motor-oil that had leaked from one of the advance motorbikes. Man and bike went down in a crumpled heap as nearby spectators gasped in horror.
Before long, it was apparent that one of the pre-tour favourites | | was out for the count. An unconscious Defley was transported to the nearby hospital, where scans confirmed he had suffered a badly sprained ankle together with a concussion and various scrapes and bruises.
Dodge team manager Zee was apoplectic after the race, accusing tour organisers of screwing up and not putting a proper emphasis on rider safety.
"It's an absolute disgrace. The team has worked so hard for this tour and it's barely been hours into the first stage and we've lost the team lead. There goes our season."
There has been speculation that Dodge might be taking the organisers to task in an unprecedented bid to claim compensation. But while Defley's fellow competitors may breathe a sigh of relief, coverage of the tour was thrown into doubt as official presenter the Dodge Racing Channel released a statement stating that they were considering pulling out in protest.
As it stands, Hostede leads the General classification from Jahn Rosenlund with a group of 4 riders a futher 2 seconds back.
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