Brandon McNulty surprises and takes the first red jersey of La Vuelta 2024

The inaugural time trial of La Vuelta a España 2024 gave us a day full of emotions with two clearly defined races, one for the stage victory, which was played out in just a handful of seconds, and another among the contenders for the general classification, with the first assault being led by Primoz Roglic who dreams of achieving his fourth title in three weeks in Madrid.

The inaugural time trial of La Vuelta reveals the first differences among the favorites

The mere 12 kilometers of individual time trial between Lisbon and Oeiras turned out to be more than the usual start that these initial stages are conceived as. Despite its completely flat route and short distance, it did not seem to predict the battle that we were able to enjoy, especially in terms of the stage victory.

The start of La Vuelta a España 2024 was given by one of the most beloved riders in the peloton, Luis Ángel Maté, in what will be his last race before his announced retirement from professional cycling. Following him were the rest of the cyclists, with the early departure of Enric Mas, the first of the general classification riders to compete, who set a time that far exceeded the performances that the Mallorcan usually achieves in this discipline.

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Take the curves like a professional

Also early was the start of Edoardo Affini, who performed an absolutely fantastic time trial, setting a time that kept the Italian in the hot seat practically until the end of the time trial. We began to realize the quality of the time of the Visma-Lease a Bike cyclist when not even Joshua Tarling, one of the main favorites for victory in the first stage of La Vuelta a España 2024, was able to surpass Affini, who maintained the lead by just 28 hundredths of a second. It couldn't have been any closer.

And it seemed that the Italian could take the victory when a surprising Mathias Vacek, a young rider from Lidl-Trek, set a tremendous time, lowering the best time by a remarkable 6 seconds.

Meanwhile, the favorites were arriving slowly, with mixed performances where notable performances were shared, such as those of Adam Yates or the local idol Joao Almeida, contrasting with the discreet times set by cyclists like Carlos Rodríguez or the current winner of La Vuelta, the American Sepp Kuss. And above all, Primoz Roglic, who performed a solid time trial that allowed him to be the best among the general classification riders.

It only remained to be seen if Wout van Aert would be able to win the stage with the advantage of starting last, knowing all the references. Van Aert did a very good time trial, even placing himself in the lead, by just hundredths of a second, at the intermediate timing point. However, the Belgian did not count on the tremendous second half of the time trial by Brandon McNulty, third at the intermediate point, who managed to cut the gap and improve Vacek's time at the finish by just 2 seconds. A time that Wout van Aert was unable to beat, finishing third in the stage, 3 seconds behind the cyclist from UAE Team Emirates.

A fiercely competitive stage in which the notable differences, especially considering the mere 12 kilometers covered, among the contenders for the general classification must be highlighted, with Primoz Roglic leading the way with Joao Almeida just 2 seconds behind and Mattias Sjkemosse 7 seconds back. From there, the field opens up and we find Adam Yates trailing by 17 seconds from the Slovenian and Enric Mas falling back to 22 seconds.

And with a significant gap to make up, we find Carlos Rodríguez with a 29-second deficit, Sepp Kuss conceding 36 seconds, and Mikel Landa still struggling in this discipline despite the 48 seconds lost being considered a good result for him.

Stage 1 Classification

1. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) 12'35''
2. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) +2''
3. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) +3''
4. Sefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) +7''
5. Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) +8''
6. Joshua Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers) +8''
7. Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) +17''
8. Primoz Roglic (RedBull-BORA-hansgrohe) +17''
9. Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +18''
10. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +20''