Denmark's Julius Johansen was the last rider to start the opening stage of O Gran Camiño, a 14.8-kilometre individual time trial in the city of A Coruña, but the 26-year-old was strong enough to secure both first place and the first victory of his career.
Second, 16 seconds back, in the largely urban test finishing near the ancient lighthouse of Torre de Hércules was Rafael Reis, Johansen's old teammate at Portu Anicolor Campicarn.
Movistar's veteran Portuguese racer, Nelson Oliveira, was third, 16.7 seconds slower than Johansen.
The fastest rider at all the intermediate checkpoints on the opening hilly, fast course, Johansen's dominant victory was the 19th win of the season for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
While Johansen will lead into stage 2 of the five-day event, his teammate and top favourite Adam Yates is ideally placed in sixth, 40 seconds back.
"I'm extremely proud, it was a very tough day, there was a bit of wind out there," Johansen told race TV.
"We have a strong peloton here, I knew I was in good shape. I hope for a top five but standing here with the win is just amazing.
"It's really funny to beat Rafael, I saw from the training before that he came in in best time just before I started, I know him from being teammates with him and how strong he is."
How it unfolded
Spanish National TT Champion Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) set the first key time to beat of 18:41. However, 21-year-old Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike) followed up his breakthrough top ten overall at the UAE Tour earlier this year by demolishing Balderstone's time with a result of 18:11.
Interest was very high in how leading favourite, Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) would fare on the rolling course and he looked at least on the short but challenging category 4 climb, the 1.5 kilometre San Pedro, in the first half, and over the two-kilometre paved section further on around the very exposed headland overlooking the city that followed.
Setting the fastest time at checkpoint number 2 after 7.5 kilometres, Yates then pounded along the broad boulevards of A Coruña sea front at full speed and blasted up the final short 250 metres rise to Torre de Hércules with a time 13 seconds short of the Norwegian. That might not be enough for what would have been Yates' first-ever pro time trial win at 33, but nonetheless would prove sufficient to ensure he was the best-placed of the favourites for the overall.
Yates was powerless to stop the Movistar veteran Nelson Oliveira, formerly a well-known time trialist, from cutting 11 seconds off Nordhagen's time and putting himself in pole position to take what would have been his first victory in a decade. But Oliveira's hopes of rolling back the years were then dashed when he was pipped to the line by Rafael Reis (Anicolor Campicarn), the former European TT champion, who produced a storming second half to move ahead by one second.
It could have been a winning performance for Iván Romeo (Movistar), but after a promising start, he was affected by one of numerous punctures on the cobbled section, which led to much hand-waving, cursing, a bike change, and a complete loss of any chance of victory.
The rider who finally took the win, Johansen, had his own difficulties, too, with a possibly incorrectly calibrated power meter, he said later, showing him an output of 30 Watts, which he had predicted. However, the information radioed through from the teamcar looked solid enough, with a nine second advantage on the previous best time of Romeo at the first checkpoint, continuing with a five-second lead on runner-up Yates at the second check, and victory at the finish.
Discussing the lack of correct power information, Johansen said later, "Of course, it was frustrating. But I'm just extremely proud of what I did. I didn't have a clue what time it'd end in, and if I would be best time, top five or top ten."
"Then, when they told me I won, I almost couldn't believe it. Sitting here now is amazing."
