“It was a 200km day with rain and crosswind the whole way,” said the Dane.

“There was a little climb at the 1km to go and it was about 500 meters long. I moved up on the climb and sat in fifth position into the last corner.”

“I just tried to do a long sprint and passed Swift on the final stretch.”

The win on the opening day also puts Rasmussen into the leader’s jersey.

This also marks the first race for Andreas Klier in his new role as Director Sportif, since retiring from racing last week.

What is the first memory you have involving a bike?

I remember a picture my mom has of me, super tiny on training wheels. But actually remember riding a bike… I had a little BMX circuit around my parent’s yard when I was a kid. We lived a little outside of town and I remember ripping around that all day after school. Built it all myself!

What career do you think you would have pursued if not for cycling?

That’s a tough one, because cycling has been my thing since I was 12. The one thing I can see myself doing is mountain climbing guide. It’s certainly a sport that I love and would have been an interesting route to take.

I still try to get out a bit but have to limit it because of training, but a few time out in the mountains a few times a year — it’s good for the soul.

What do you do to get your mind off and away from cycling?

Definitely getting up in the mountains — rock climbing, ice climbing, back country skiing, just playing in the hills.

After you have been on the road for a long stretch, what is the first thing you crave doing back home?

I go to Starbucks! Yeah, actually — they are the only ones who do these crazy coffee drinks. In Europe nobody else does. So it’s actually right at the top of my list, along with playing my X-box a close second. I’ve been really into Red Dead Redemption but I recently moved on to Modern Warfare 3, I’m a little behind the times.