Cavendish in the pink as team win Giro opener

By Mark Meadows

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - Team Columbia went out first and finished first in the opening time trial of the Giro d'Italia with Britain's Mark Cavendish bagging the pink jersey Saturday.

Garmin-Slipstream, criticised by rivals for concentrating their preparation on the time trial rather than the three-week race, came in second while Lance Armstrong's Astana pulled off a minor surprise by finishing third.

"We are psyched with that. The guys were smooth and strong. Going to be a fun three weeks," Armstrong told his Twitter feed (twitter.com/lancearmstrong).

Going first on the 20-km course around Venice's Lido may have been seen as a disadvantage but America's Team Columbia surged round and never looked like being beaten.

Times were recorded for the fifth-finishing rider in the teams and Columbia managed the flat route in 21 minutes 50 seconds, with Cavendish leading the way.

The 23-year-old from the Isle of Man won the Milan-San Remo race in March and again showed his sprinting skills to become the first Briton to wear the pink jersey.

"It just happens that I wear the jersey for the team. Someone had to cross the line first," Cavendish said after opening the champagne with jersey designers Dolce and Gabbana.

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