Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) will wear the first red jersey of the 2024 Vuelta a España after he claimed a narrow victory in the stage 1 time trial from Lisbon to Oeiras.
The American delivered a well-judged effort on the windswept course at the mouth of the Tagus river to beat a surprising Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) by two seconds, while Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) had to settle for third after leading at the intermediate time check.
McNulty was the penultimate rider down the start ramp and Vacek was the man to beat as he began his 12km effort, though he would have known that Van Aert, the final starter of the evening, would also be firmly in contention.
Van Aert was a fraction of a second quicker than Vacek at the 7km mark, while McNulty was third at two seconds. Over the final section of the course, however, McNulty proved the strongest and he powered home at an average speed of 57.197kph to claim the spoils.
Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), 8th at 17 seconds, was the best placed of the general classification favourites, with João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) a further two seconds back in 10th. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) lost 34 seconds, while Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) conceded 54 seconds.
The evening, however, belonged to McNulty, who had endured the disappointment of missing out the podium at the Paris 2024 Olympics, placing fifth in the individual time trial. Though his medal dream evaporated for another four years, the form clearly remained intact.
After placing an encouraging 10th at the Clásica San Sebastián last week, McNulty arrived in Portugal among the contenders for the first maillot rojo of the Vuelta, even if men like Van Aert and Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) set out as favourites.
“I don’t know if I expected to win but I knew if something crazy happened, then I could win - so I guess something crazy happened,” McNulty said. “I was hoping for something good today but that’s hard to believe for me.
“I just had super good legs. I’ve been feeling really good in training. I really went for the Olympics, and I’ve had good legs since then. I knew I could do something good, but I didn’t expect to win.”
How it unfolded
The Vuelta was starting from Lisbon for the second time in its history. Back in 1997, the race got underway with a road stage that finished in nearby Estoril, with Lars Michaelsen claiming the first yellow jersey. This time out, the organisation opted for an individual time trial that began in the striking district of Belém and followed a course parallel to the Tagus river towards the finish in Oeiras.
The windy conditions during the recon prompted Van Aert and his Visma-Lease a Bike squad to dispense with any notions of using the double disc wheels that carried the Belgian to bronze at the Paris Olympics. No matter, the equipment didn’t slow his teammate Edoardo Affini, who would spend much of the evening in the hot seat after hurtling around the course in excess of 56kph.
As time went by, it appeared that the wind was rising. At the very least, more riders appeared to be visibly discommoded by the crosswind, and when the European champion Tarling fell just short of Affini’s time, it looked as though the Italian was the maillot rojo in waiting.
“I just felt so bad, really. I just felt flat,” Tarling said. “I struggled in the week between the Olympics and this. I felt really just like a brick.”
Affini’s hopes were dashed, however, when Vacek scorched through the 7km check some five seconds quicker and then maintained that buffer all the way to the finish. Sportingly, Affini doffed an imaginary cap in appreciation as he left the finish area.
Almeida, roared on by a boisterous home crowd, was unable to compete with Vacek, though he expressed satisfaction with his time. Roglič’s display suggested he will be ready for the challenge ahead after his latest bout of ill fortune at the Tour, but he, too, never looked in contention for the stage honours.
At that point, Vacek looked primed for a surprise victory, but the time trial took on a new dimension with the final two starters. Van Aert must have believed he was on course for the red jersey when he set the new best time at the time check, but the Belgian lost a fraction of speed in the closing phase, and that would relegate him to third at two seconds.
“I’m not really satisfied. I didn’t feel great, just good – but too soon in the TT it started to hurt and it was a long way from there to the finish,” said Van Aert, though, with an eye to Sunday’s stage, he was cheered to learn he was so close to the red jersey. “Then all is to play for. That’s good.”
While Van Aert faded slightly down the stretch, McNulty held firm. The American time trial champion had the third-best time at the intermediate checkpoint, but he managed to finish his effort better than anybody to take the spoils, adding a Vuelta stage win to go with the one he collected on the Giro d’Italia last year.
“There’s not really much pacing. I just felt good, and I went as hard I as I could. I knew the split was goo so I just held on, but it was full-on from the start to the finish,” McNulty said. “The Olympics was tough for me. I hoped and I thought I could finish on the podium. Maybe today I proved that I was capable of being there on a better day.”
McNulty will wear the red jersey on stage 2 to Ourém, though he knows his UAE Team Emirates squad has loftier goals on this race. Both Almeida and Yates will believe they can wear the final maillot rojo in Madrid.
“I’ll enjoy it but it’s no secret or surprise that we have two leaders in João and Adam, so we’ll be all in for them,” McNulty said. “I’ll just do what I can to help them.”
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