Brandon McNulty takes Vuelta a España lead after opening time-trial win

Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) managed the challenging conditions best of all to win the time-trial on the opening stage of the 2024 Vuelta a España and claim the first leader's red jersey of the race.

The American denied young Czech time-triallist Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) a breakthrough victory at the very end of the day, overcoming the 22-year-old by two seconds. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) was third while stage favourite Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) could only manage sixth. 

Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) came off the best of the contenders for the overall title, calming fears that his crashes earlier in the season meant that his form would be under-par coming into this race. The three-time Vuelta winner came 8th on the stage, 17 seconds down on McNulty.

"I don't know if I expected to win. I knew if something crazy happened, I could. So I kind of guess something crazy happened. I was hoping for something good today, but yeah, this is really hard to believe for me," McNulty told Eurosport after the finish.

The crazy thing McNulty referred to was the wind, which howled off the Atlantic coast and into the riders' sides. The American time-trial champion dealt with it well, but thought that in the end it was the legs that mattered.

"Twelve minutes - there's not really much pacing. I just felt good and went as hard as I could. I knew with the split I was good, so then I just had to hold on and give everything I had," he said.

Further into the race, McNulty's role will be to support UAE Team Emirates' two GC leaders in the mountains, Joao Almeida and Adam Yates. Almeida was just two seconds behind Roglič, while Yates finished in 29th, 34 seconds off the pace.

"It's nice to be in the lead, and I'll enjoy it for the few days we have. But it's no secret or surprise that we have two very strong leaders in Joao and Adam, so I'll be all in for them, and I'll just do what I can to help them."

How it happened

The Portuguese Gran Salida of the 2024 Vuelta a España took place over a short coastline blast from Lisbon to Oeiras. As well as being an opportunity for time triallists to claim the first Maillot Rojo, stage one was also an indicator of form for the men who hope to wear that jersey in Madrid in three weeks' time.

Howling winds from the vast Atlantic Ocean buffeted the riders as they made their individual efforts, picking up as the race wore on, potentially handing advantage to the earlier starters.

Visma-Lease a Bike's Italian powerhouse Edoardo Affini set the early benchmark of 12:43 as the favourites waited in the wings.

Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) was the first of the big favourites to start his run and came out at the height of the wind's force. He was three seconds ahead of Affini at the intermediate time-check, but lost that advantage in the second half, finishing his ride just under three-tenths of a second slower than the Italian.

Lidl-Trek's young Czech rouleur Mathias Vacek set a storming time to beat Tarling's intermediate mark by two seconds, extending that lead to six by the end to set a time that looked like it could challenge for the win.

The time-trial was a good test of the form of Primoz Roglič, who has been so proficient in the discipline in the past. He dropped 17 seconds to McNulty and was the best of all GC contenders, possibly easing some doubt as to whether he can challenge for the red jersey later on in this race.

It was a course that suited Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) well, but he came up a few seconds short. Minutes later, as the final few riders flew towards Oeiras, McNulty set a blistering time to overtake Vacek having been a second behind him at halfway.

Wout van Aert was the last man down the ramp as the sun began to lower. He was the only man to beat Vacek at the intermediate split, shaving a second off and looking like he was heading for red. The Belgian faded slightly as McNulty stayed strong, finishing three seconds down.

A 12km time trial doesn't feel like a lot, but time gaps can be easily opened up over that distance, gaps that may be crucial in Madrid.

Mikel Landa (T-Rex - Quick-Step) was the biggest loser in the overall battle, conceding 1:05 to McNulty. Reigning champion Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) was not much further ahead, losing 53 seconds.

Putting time into many of their rivals were Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), who finished 10th at 19 seconds, and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) who was 13th, 22 seconds down.

Tomorrow, the riders head out en masse with the first road stage. It's a 194km route from Cascais to Ourém which looks ideal for Van Aert.

Results

La Vuelta a España stage one: Lisboa > Oeiras (12km)

1. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, in 12:35
2. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek, +2s
3. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3s
4. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, +6s
5. Edoardo Affini (Ita) Visma-Lease a Bike, +8s
6. Joshua Tarling (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, same time
7. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Team Jayco AlUla, +16s
8. Primoz Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +17s
9. Bruno Amirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +18s
10. Joao Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +19s

General Classifications after stage one

1. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, in 12:35
2. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek, +2s
3. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3s
4. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, +6s
5. Edoardo Affini (Ita) Visma-Lease a Bike, +8s
6. Joshua Tarling (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, same time
7. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Team Jayco AlUla, +16s
8. Primoz Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +17s
9. Bruno Amirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +18s
10. Joao Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +19s