Geraint Thomas wins opening stage of Tour de France

Chris Froome’s most loyal support rider finally got some glory of his own.

Geraint Thomas won the wet and slippery opening stage of the Tour de France on Saturday and claimed the yellow jersey.

It was the first Grand Tour stage victory for Thomas, who has escorted Sky teammate Froome to Paris for three Tour victories.

“I just can’t believe it,” Thomas said. “I got into cycling because of the Tour de France.”

Thomas said he watched the Tour as a kid and harangued his dad to get satellite TV coverage.

“I ran home from school to watch it,” he said. “It’s crazy to be in the camera.”

Averaging 32 mph, Thomas required little more than 16 minutes to cover the almost entirely flat 8.7-mile individual time trial up and down the banks of the Rhine River in downtown Duesseldorf.

Stefan Kueng of BMC finished second, five seconds behind, and Vasil Kiryienka of Sky was third, seven seconds back.

Froome finished sixth, 12 seconds behind, and gained time on all of his expected challengers. He finished about 40 seconds ahead of both Richie Porte and Nairo Quintana.

“I’ve been cautious. It was slippery. It wasn’t the best time trial for me,” Porte said. “I was nervous. It was better to take no risk.”

Thomas opened the year aiming for overall victory in the Giro d’Italia but was forced to abandon that race because of injuries in a crash caused by a police motorbike. The Welshman started his career as a track cyclist, winning Olympic and world titles in team pursuit.

In the opening stage of the 2013 Tour, Thomas crashed and broke his pelvis but remained in the race until the end to help Froome take his first victory.

“I heard in my ear that Geraint Thomas had won. That’s super, super,” Froome said. “I have worked a lot on the time trial in the last three weeks after the Dauphine.”

It was a banner day for Team Sky, which placed four riders in the top 10 with Michal Kwiatkowski one spot behind Froome in seventh.

Pre-stage favorite Tony Martin, the four-time time trial world champion racing before his home fans, finished fourth, eight seconds behind.

Many riders complained about the super slippery combination of oil and rain on the road and they were careful to avoid riding over white traffic lines, which can be extra treacherous when wet.

“It hasn’t rained here for months — like everywhere else in Europe,” said former world champion Philippe Gilbert. “Millions of cars have used these roads. There’s oil and diesel on the road. It’s necessary to be cautious.”

There were numerous crashes, including two involving key support riders for the overall favorites — Alejandro Valverde, who assists Quintana at Movistar, and Nicolas Roche, who aides Porte with BMC.

Valverde slammed into the barriers at high speed after falling off his bike and was forced to abandon the race in a neck brace. Roche lost control while traversing tram tracks.

Tony Gallopin was also the victim of an ugly crash, while two riders of the Lotto-Jumbo team hit the ground.

Tour rookie Dylan Groenewegen slid across the pavement entangled with his bike for about 15 meters as if he were on ice. Teammate and Tour of California winner George Bennett was in a similar crash, and a Lotto-Jumbo team official nearly lost control, too, while helping Bennett to get going again.

Despite the rain, fans under umbrellas turned out in large numbers lining the entire route as the Tour’s start returned to Germany for the first time in 30 years.

The course included just one turn over the first four kilometers and not a single corner in the finishing section. In between were the technical parts crossing the Rhine twice then circling around the Altstadt (old town), known as “the longest bar in the world” for its more than 300 drinking establishments.

The route also dipped under the Rheinturm TV tower featuring the world’s largest digital clock.

Stage 2 on Sunday is a mostly flat 126-mile leg from Duesseldorf to Liege, Belgium, that should set up well for sprinters.

The three-week Tour concludes in Paris on July 23.