Mike Teunissen triumphed in the prologue of the Tour de l'Ain today and is the first leader of the French stage race. On his Bianchi Aquila CV, the 22-year-old Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider was the fastest man on the 3.8-kilometer course in Bourg-en-Bresse. The difference with runner-up Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) was minimal, just six-hundredths of a second.

Teunissen was not the only Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider punching into the top of the ranking. Trainee Twan Castelijns recorded the fifth-fastest time, while Timo Roosen was good for 12th.

“I got it and nobody can take this from me now,” Teunissen said after his winning effort. “My advantage was that I started as second-to-last. The other boys had already set good times, and so I knew what I had to do.”

Course record

With a time of 4’31”, Teunissen, who finished second in the Prudential RideLondon & Surrey Classic last week, broke Wilco Kelderman’s mark set in 2011.

“I needed an average speed of more than 50 kilometres per hour, and that’s not easy on a course with two sections with tricky corners. But London went well, and I knew that my shape should still be there.”

Dream ride

Teunissen, still a neo pro, expects to have a good night of sleep. “After London, I made a mistake by going back to watch the final kilometres before I went to bed. That left me with the idea like I had ruined an opportunity, and that feeling kept me awake all night. This time, I think I’ll quickly fall asleep and that I’m going to have some sweet dreams.”

Yellow jersey

The yellow jersey will hang around Teunissen’s shoulders during the first road stage tomorrow, and the youngster will do everything to retain the jersey.

"I want to get involved in the sprints during the stage, and take bonus seconds. In the bunch sprints, Nacer Bouhanni will certainly be a problem, but if I’m well-placed, I can do well. And we have some guys here who know what’s required in a sprint.”

Dekker delighted

Erik Dekker was delighted with the performance of his team. “The guys really rode on their limits today. They really went for it,” the Sports Director said.

“At the start, I was able to look them in the eye, and I really saw that they wanted to fight. In the end, we did great as a team. We’ve won the team classification, just as in the prologue of the Tour de France. With the arrival of the new time trial bike, confidence has returned.”