Bradley Wiggins (Sky) has drawn first blood at the Giro d'Italia. Wiggins powered over the flat, technical, 8.7-km course in Amsterdam, The Netherlands to win Stage 1 in 10:18. Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing Team) finished second at 0:02, and Cadel Evans (Team BMC Racing) took third at 0:02.

Gustav Erik Larsson (Saxo Bank), the 60th starter, set the early standard. The Swede posted a 10:25, which remained the time to beat for a long while. Marco Pinotti (Columbia), the 110th starter, came within 0:02 of Larsson's time, but Larsson remained the race leader until Bookwalter, the 144th starter and the 2006 U.S. under-23 time trial champ, posted his 10:20.

For a while, Bookwalter's time looked like a winner. Greg Henderson (Sky) rode well but fell 0:03 short of the American's mark, and David Millar (Garmin), one of the favorites to win the stage, finished 0:04 behind the BMC rider. Only Wiggins could better Bookwalter's time, with Evans, the last starter, slotting in behind Bookwalter for third.

The stage was ridden in cold, rainy conditions, but Wiggins held nothing back. "I just did my race. That's what I always do in time trials," the Briton said. "If I crashed, I crashed. I wasn't going to touch my brakes." His all-out effort was just enough to win.

In the overall, Wiggins leads Bookwalter by 0:02 and Evans by the same margin. Stage 2 probably will not change this state of affairs, although Wiggins will not win the stage. The flat, 210-km run from Amsterdam to Utrecht, The Netherlands will end in a sprint. Who will win? Tyler Farrar (Garmin)? Andre Greipel (Columbia)? Robbie McEwen (Katusha)? Check in at www.roadcycling.com and find out! Watch 2010 Giro d'Italia video highlights in our videos section at www.roadcycling.com/video .