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Lausanne - Geraint Thomas of Britain raced through the rain to win the prologue of the six-day Tour de Romandie on Tuesday.
Thomas, a reigning Olympic and world champion in team pursuit on the track, clocked 3 minutes, 29.43 seconds over the 3.3km course in Lausanne.
Italy's Giacomo Nizzolo, of the RadioShack-Nissan team, was almost five seconds slower in second.
Mark Cavendish from Britain was third, trailing his Team Sky colleague Thomas by six seconds. The road race world champion returned to racing after missing several weeks for the birth of his daughter.
Pre-race favourite Bradley Wiggins, another British Sky rider, was nine seconds back in 11th place.
"It's a nice little win," said Thomas, who will focus on team duties for the rest of the race. "I will be there to help Cav in the sprints, wherever they come, and obviously Bradley is going for the (overall victory)."
Cadel Evans of Australia began the defence of his Romandie title 20 seconds back in 80th. The Tour de France winner had missed some one-day spring classic races due to sinus problems.
Wednesday's stage is a 184.5km trek from the banks of Lake Geneva at Morges to the watch-making town of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Jura foothills.
The race ends on Sunday.
Results on Tuesday from the first stage of the six-day Tour de Romandie, a 3.34km prologue in Lausanne:
1. Geraint Thomas, Britain, Sky Procycling, 3 minutes, 29.43 seconds.
2. Giacomo Nizzolo, Italy, RadioShack-Nissan, 5 seconds behind.
3. Mark Cavendish, Britain, Sky Procycling, :06.
4. Michael Rogers, Australia, Sky Procycling, :06.
5. Kristof Vandewalle, Belgium, Omega Pharma-Quickstep, :06.
6. Julien Vermote, Belgium, Omega Pharma-Quickstep, :07.
7. Bauke Mollema, Netherlands, Rabobank, :08.
8. Stef Clement, Netherlands, Rabobank, :08.
9. Manuele Boaro, Italy, Saxo-Bank, :08.
10. Alex Rasmussen, Denmark, Garmin-Barracuda, :08.
Thomas, a reigning Olympic and world champion in team pursuit on the track, clocked 3 minutes, 29.43 seconds over the 3.3km course in Lausanne.
Italy's Giacomo Nizzolo, of the RadioShack-Nissan team, was almost five seconds slower in second.
Mark Cavendish from Britain was third, trailing his Team Sky colleague Thomas by six seconds. The road race world champion returned to racing after missing several weeks for the birth of his daughter.
Pre-race favourite Bradley Wiggins, another British Sky rider, was nine seconds back in 11th place.
"It's a nice little win," said Thomas, who will focus on team duties for the rest of the race. "I will be there to help Cav in the sprints, wherever they come, and obviously Bradley is going for the (overall victory)."
Cadel Evans of Australia began the defence of his Romandie title 20 seconds back in 80th. The Tour de France winner had missed some one-day spring classic races due to sinus problems.
Wednesday's stage is a 184.5km trek from the banks of Lake Geneva at Morges to the watch-making town of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Jura foothills.
The race ends on Sunday.
Results on Tuesday from the first stage of the six-day Tour de Romandie, a 3.34km prologue in Lausanne:
1. Geraint Thomas, Britain, Sky Procycling, 3 minutes, 29.43 seconds.
2. Giacomo Nizzolo, Italy, RadioShack-Nissan, 5 seconds behind.
3. Mark Cavendish, Britain, Sky Procycling, :06.
4. Michael Rogers, Australia, Sky Procycling, :06.
5. Kristof Vandewalle, Belgium, Omega Pharma-Quickstep, :06.
6. Julien Vermote, Belgium, Omega Pharma-Quickstep, :07.
7. Bauke Mollema, Netherlands, Rabobank, :08.
8. Stef Clement, Netherlands, Rabobank, :08.
9. Manuele Boaro, Italy, Saxo-Bank, :08.
10. Alex Rasmussen, Denmark, Garmin-Barracuda, :08.
