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June 03, 2018
Critérium du Dauphiné 2018 – Prologue – Valence : 6,6 km
The 2018 Critérium du Dauphiné will once again act as a stepping stone to the Tour de France,
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June 03, 2018
Critérium du Dauphiné 2018 – Prologue – Valence : 6,6 km
The 2018 Critérium du Dauphiné will once again act as a stepping stone to the Tour de France, with eight days of racing in south west France that will give yellow jersey hopefuls the chance to hone their form and test themselves against their rivals. The Dauphiné traditionally goes up against the Tour de Suisse in a tussle for prime pre-Tour billing, and while it usually comes out on top, this year has seen a number of big names turn to Switzerland owing to the fact that the Tour has been pushed back a week due to the football World Cup.
Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) won the Critérium du Dauphiné prologue, finishing the 6.6-kilometre course in a time of 07:25. The Polish national time trial champion edged out Jos van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo) by a single second with fellow Team Sky rider Gianni Moscon rounding out the top three.
Kwiatkowski’s win makes him the first race leader, while Moscon heads up the young rider competition. Kwiatkowski has not raced since a disappointing run at the Ardennes Classics at the end of April, and while the win came as a bit of a surprise, he was confident of his good form coming into the race.
“After 40 days without racing of course it is a bit of a surprise but I know how hard I was training to be in a good shape here at the Dauphine and also preparing for the Tour. You have to always come to the start thinking about the win or otherwise you’re not able to perform well,” Kwiatkowski said before stepping on the podium.
It wasn’t all good for Team Sky on the opening day with Geraint Thomas crashing during his run and losing more than 20 seconds. Had he not come down, Thomas would have been close to, if not ahead, of the time set by Kwiatkowski. Despite this, Kwiatkowski says that he and Thomas still share the leadership at Team Sky.
“I know where it happened. It was on a really fast bend and you had to be really careful. I hope that he’s alright because I know that G can fight for the win in this race. I hope that he is OK,” explained Kwiatkowski.
“Both of us, Geraint and myself have come here to see how the shape is growing before the Tour and it’s of course my advantage to win the prologue but the harder stages are at the end of the race. There are some hard mountain finishes and a team time trial. For sure, we’re looking forward to race hard but at the moment I just want to enjoy this victory. It was my birthday yesterday and as well this is probably the last time trial in the national jersey. I will try to defend it at the national championships in a couple of weeks but it is always a nice feeling.”
How it unfolded
The 2018 Criterium du Dauphine saw the return of the prologue with a short 6.6km run around Valence. The first riders set off just after midday with Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) setting the early benchmark with his time of 7:30. However, his time at the top wouldn’t last too long with Jos van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo) carrying his good form out of the Giro d’Italia and besting the Belgian by four seconds.
Van Emden enjoyed a long stint in the hotseat as the general classification contenders battled it out amongst themselves. Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) put in solid efforts to finish just a second apart in the final standings. Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) was one of the strongest GC riders losing just 14 seconds to the eventual winner Kwiatkowski.
It was clear that Kwiatkowski was going strong when he was the only rider to match Alex Edmonson’s (Mitchelton-Scott) time at the first intermediate check. While Edmondson slowed slightly in the second half, Kwiatkowski kept his pace to edge out Van Emden by just a second.
Thomas looked like he might be able to beat his teammate to the line, but it all went pear-shaped as he rounded a righthand bend. Thomas’ bike went out from under him and he hit the tarmac at speed before sliding into a fence at the side of the road.
He lost a bit of skin and some skinsuit but he was able to get back on the same bike quickly and continue his run. However, the crash put him 21 seconds back and equal on time with Adam Yates and Pello Bilbao. The Welshman will see it as a lost opportunity to gain time on his rivals.
Results :
1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 0:07:25
2 Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:01
3 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:03
4 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:05
5 Patrick Bevin (NZl) BMC Racing Team
6 Matthias Brandle (Aut) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:06
7 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:07
8 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:09
9 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky
10 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:11
11 Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
12 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:12
13 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:13
14 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb
15 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky
16 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
17 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:14
18 Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
19 Lars Boom (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
20 Neilson Powless (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo
21 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:15
22 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
23 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal
24 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:16
25 Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team
26 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
27 Jasha Sutterlin (Ger) Movistar Team 0:00:17
28 Corentin Ermenault (Fra) Vital Concept Club
29 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:18
30 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
31 Lukas Postlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
32 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team
33 Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data
34 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
35 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky
36 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:19
37 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Trek-Segafredo
38 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
39 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:20
40 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Vital Concept Club
41 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:21
42 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott
43 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
44 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:22
45 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
46 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
47 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
48 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:23
49 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
50 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
51 Leo Vincent (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
52 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) Movistar Team
53 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team Sunweb
54 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
55 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
56 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:24
57 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb
58 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
59 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
60 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:25
61 Jaime Roson (Spa) Movistar Team
62 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:26
63 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
64 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
65 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
66 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:27
67 Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
68 Pierre Rolland (Fra) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
69 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
70 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:28
71 Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
72 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
73 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:29
74 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Bora-Hansgrohe
75 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ
76 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
77 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
78 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:30
79 Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
80 Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
81 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:31
82 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:32
83 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
84 Dion Smith (NZl) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
85 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:33
86 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
87 Johan Le Bon (Fra) Vital Concept Club 0:00:34
88 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
89 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
90 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates
91 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
92 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data
93 Floris De Tier (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo
94 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
95 Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:35
96 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
97 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Werkilul (Eri) Dimension Data
98 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
99 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
100 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:36
101 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
102 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team
103 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
104 Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
105 Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team
106 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
107 Rob Power (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
108 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:37
109 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
110 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
111 Carlos Verona (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott
112 Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
113 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:38
114 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Vital Concept Club
115 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
116 Brendan Canty (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
117 Sven Erik Bystrom (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:39
118 Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
119 Simone Petilli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:40
120 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Katusha-Alpecin
121 Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:41
122 James Knox (GBr) Quick-Step Floors
123 Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data
124 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
125 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
126 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:00:42
127 Thomas Degand (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:44
128 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
129 Johannes Frohlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:00:45
130 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
131 Daniel Moreno (Spa) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
132 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
133 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:46
134 Sepp Kuss (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo
135 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
136 Marco Minnaard (Ned) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:47
137 Ian Boswell (USA) Katusha-Alpecin
138 Rœben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
139 Warren Barguil (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro 0:00:49
140 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:00:50
141 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:51
142 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Quick-Step Floors
143 Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
144 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Vital Concept Club
145 Laurent Pichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
146 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:52
147 Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
148 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) Vital Concept Club 0:00:53
149 RŸdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:55
150 Kevin Reza (Fra) Vital Concept Club 0:00:56
151 Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:00:58
152 Romain Hardy (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro 0:01:00
153 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:01:30
General Classification after Prologue :
1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 0:07:25
2 Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:01
3 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:03
4 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:05
5 Patrick Bevin (NZl) BMC Racing Team
6 Matthias Brandle (Aut) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:06
7 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:07
8 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:09
9 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky
10 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:11
11 Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
12 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:12
13 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:13
14 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb
15 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky
16 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
17 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:14
18 Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
19 Lars Boom (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
20 Neilson Powless (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo
21 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:15
22 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
23 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal
24 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:16
25 Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team
26 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
27 Jasha Sutterlin (Ger) Movistar Team 0:00:17
28 Corentin Ermenault (Fra) Vital Concept Club
29 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:18
30 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
31 Lukas Postlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
32 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team
33 Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data
34 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
35 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky
36 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:19
37 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Trek-Segafredo
38 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
39 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:20
40 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Vital Concept Club
41 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:00:21
42 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott
43 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
44 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:22
45 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
46 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
47 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
48 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:23
49 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
50 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
51 Leo Vincent (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
52 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) Movistar Team
53 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team Sunweb
54 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
55 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
56 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:24
57 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb
58 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
59 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
60 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:25
61 Jaime Roson (Spa) Movistar Team
62 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:26
63 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
64 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
65 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
66 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:27
67 Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
68 Pierre Rolland (Fra) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
69 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
70 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:28
71 Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
72 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
73 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:29
74 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Bora-Hansgrohe
75 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ
76 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
77 Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
78 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:30
79 Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
80 Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
81 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:31
82 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:32
83 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
84 Dion Smith (NZl) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
85 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:33
86 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
87 Johan Le Bon (Fra) Vital Concept Club 0:00:34
88 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
89 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
90 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates
91 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
92 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data
93 Floris De Tier (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo
94 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
95 Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:35
96 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
97 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Werkilul (Eri) Dimension Data
98 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
99 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
100 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:36
101 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
102 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team
103 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
104 Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
105 Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team
106 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
107 Rob Power (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
108 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:37
109 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
110 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
111 Carlos Verona (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott
112 Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
113 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:38
114 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Vital Concept Club
115 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
116 Brendan Canty (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
117 Sven Erik Bystrom (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:39
118 Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
119 Simone Petilli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:40
120 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Katusha-Alpecin
121 Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:41
122 James Knox (GBr) Quick-Step Floors
123 Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data
124 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
125 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
126 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:00:42
127 Thomas Degand (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:44
128 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
129 Johannes Frohlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:00:45
130 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
131 Daniel Moreno (Spa) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
132 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
133 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:46
134 Sepp Kuss (USA) LottoNL-Jumbo
135 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
136 Marco Minnaard (Ned) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:47
137 Ian Boswell (USA) Katusha-Alpecin
138 Rœben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo
139 Warren Barguil (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro 0:00:49
140 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:00:50
141 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:51
142 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Quick-Step Floors
143 Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
144 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Vital Concept Club
145 Laurent Pichon (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
146 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:52
147 Amael Moinard (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
148 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) Vital Concept Club 0:00:53
149 RŸdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:55
150 Kevin Reza (Fra) Vital Concept Club 0:00:56
151 Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:00:58
152 Romain Hardy (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro 0:01:00
153 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:01:30
