Verdugo blasts his way to prologue joy

Gorka Verdugo powered his way to fifth place in Saturday's Tour de Suisse prologue.

The veteran made good use of favourable weather conditions, profiting from a tail-wind to come in only 16 seconds back on winner Cameron Meyer. As Cancellara and numerous other big-hitters prepared to set off, the wind turned, making for a surprising list of results.

Igor Antón, one of the last off, struggled in the tough conditions and ceded more than a minute in the 8,1km test against the clock. Jorge Azanza, coming off a solid Giro d'Italia, was worse off, hitting the tarmac on a curve.

Post-stage he wasn't sounding overly pessimistic, though.

"I'm pretty banged up, but at least I'm still in one part", he told the team's website. "We'll see how the injuries develop. I hope to hit back - I'm motivated and in good shape".

Results:

• (1, Cameron Mayer (Orica-GreenEdge), 3:39)
• 5, Gorka Verdugo, 0:16
• 57, Adrián Sáez, 0:41
• 65, Ion Izagirre, 0:43
• 78, Ricardo Mestre, 0:46
• 122, Robert Vrecer, 1:01
• 127, Juan José Oroz, 1:04
• 152, Igor Antón, 1:13
• 162, Jorge Azanza, 1:23

Photo: Euskaltel Euskadi