Jonas Vingegaard shines on Montjuïc

BarcelonaAfter trying it in different races, the Tour de France has premiered the team time trial in Barcelona with the particularity that the stage is won by the team of the cyclist who arrives at the finish line with the best time. The individual record achieved marks the general classification. It is no longer necessary for five cyclists to arrive together, and the novelties have led to new strategies that have been applied to a 19.6 km route that passed through 3 districts of Barcelona. The eight turns in Sant Martí have been the most technical part of the time trial. In L'Eixample, they flew, and in Sants-Montjuïc, the power of the cyclists' legs on the climbs of Passeig de Santa Madrona and Passeig Olímpic have been decisive in making a difference. On the descent after the Olympic stadium Lluís Companys, at the left turn of INEFC, the cyclists reached over 80 km/h before arriving at Carrer del Foc. The strategy of team time trials has changed, and the cyclists have helped each other with relays in the city, and the front riders, the big shots, have sought their best time in the general classification in the final 800 meters that have ramped upwards to the finish line next to the stadium. Pros and cons of this new format in which at the start, the team's gears are seen in perfect harmony of what a team time trial is, in which each one has their function, and an end in which the cyclists arrive in dribs and drabs after their individual brilliance, which has provided a very exciting spectacle.

Movistar was doing a good time trial when they set the provisional best time until, on the climb after the Santa Madrona promenade, the team leader for the general classification, Belgian Uijtdebroeks, lost momentum and his teammates waited for him. Behind them, Mathieu van der Poel's team was already approaching the best time, which he achieved alone upon reaching the finish line. Then came Filippo Ganna's Italian locomotive from Netcompany Ineos to set a time that would mark the reference for the final victory: 21'55" with an average speed of 53.6 km/h. Subsequently, the final flourish with the fireworks of the general classification favorites, in which Jonas Vingegaard accelerated more than anyone to overtake Ganna and beat the best time. Only Tadej Pogacar was left to arrive, who achieved the third best time behind Vingegaard and the Italian, who was left with his mouth watering, eight seconds from victory. Therefore, the Visma Lease team won the stage and the Dane, who is coming from winning the Giro d'Italia, is the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France. "It's an exciting way to start the Tour. I've been waiting for this moment for two years".

A new format time trial that has begun to make a difference in the classification

Juan Ayuso, the best Spanish option in the general classification, has lost only sixteen seconds despite Mattias Skjelmose's group dropping him, an important asset for the team due to a mechanical failure during the time trial. “We were left with five cyclists alone very early on,” explained at the finish line the cyclist who until last year was Pogacar's teammate and who left the UAE team to have the opportunity to be a leader in the Tour de France, and Lidl Trek has achieved it. The daring French cyclist Paul Seixas, who at nineteen years old is not bothered by the pressure of an entire country to be on the Tour podium or even win it, closes the Top 10 of the general classification 39 seconds behind Vingegaard.

Caja Rural, with its two Catalan cyclists in the Tour, has achieved the 16th best time of the 23 teams that started from the Forum and arrived in front of the Olympic stadium. “Tough but good,” explained Abel Balderstone to ARA after finishing the stage, who felt the warmth of the crowd in the streets of Barcelona. “The new time trial system gives more excitement because you can play more with tactics and it gives the race more dynamism,” comments Joel Nicolau to ARA after debuting in the Tour de France.

This Sunday, the second stage between Tarragona and Barcelona (168.5 km) where the climb to Begues stands out as the first second-category scoring climb, the three final laps of the Castell de Montjuïc circuit, and the finish line in front of the Olympic stadium.