No news meant good news for Movistar Team in the first chapter of their 2011 Giro d'Italia performance. The squad directed by Eusebio Unzué made it to the 11th spot in the 19.3k team time trial that opened the Corsa Rosa's 94th edition from Venaria Reale to Torino.

The telephone squad, which took off last from the starting ramp, covered the route without any incidents and reached the finish with all their nine riders, 38 seconds behind the day’s winning squad, but only fifteen from the 3rd place. “I can’t say we were excellent, but the important thing today was saving the day with no troubles,” analyzed Eusebio Unzué, Movistar Team generla manager. “It’s true that we could have done it a bit better and that the distance between making 3rd and 15th was short and could make you kump or fall several places, but we’ve got to be satisfied because we did not have any complications. We came here with skilled climbers and we have to protect them in this kind of ride. The circuit had some risks too, and it was better to be cautious rather than regretting from some complication. We got those nerves out before starting a Grand Tour, and from tomorrow on there’s four of five days where we’ll have to protect our leaders and search for the chances by Fran Ventoso. He’s coming in good form here and, if he has a good day, some of the usual finishes in the Giro might take some of the sprinters out and increase his options.”

Rui Costa comes up short in Madrid ITT opener
In turn, the Movistar Team block taking part in the 25th Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid went a step short for the victory in the 7.6k individual time trial in the Casa de Campo park, under a hellish deluge where the boys directed by Yvon Ledanois managed to perform near their best. Portugal’s Rui Costa ended in 2nd place, 11 seconds behind the best time by Jonathan Castroviejo (EUS), while teammates Iván Gutiérrez and Jesús Herrada came in 5th and 6th respectively. The Blue squad, ranking in 2nd place in teams’ overall after the evening ride in Coslada, will be looking to improve their individual result in Sunday’s decisive ride, over 117 kilometers from Colmenar Viejo to the Cat. 1 Puerto de Morcuera, the last of four categorized climbs.