Primož Roglič showed no sign of the heartbreak he suffered at the Tour. His team proved to be the strongest one again, with Sepp Kuss doing most of the damage with a series of attacks. Tom Dumoulin wasn’t quite as strong and finished 51 seconds behind the winner. The winner was Primož Roglič, of course, who attacked with 1 km to go and none of his rivals could match his effort. He is now the Jumbo-Visma’s outright leader and we’re looking forward to see if anyone can strip him of the red jersey.
The peloton lost its biggest champion, Chris Froome (Ineos Grenadiers). The 35-year-old was dropped from the peloton while his teammates were pushing the tempo up front. And none of them even flinched. Obviously, it was Richard Carapaz who was Brailsford’s GC hope all along.
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) won’t be the one to challenge Roglič either. The Frenchman tends to ride well at La Vuelta but clearly, he’s not at the same level here as the rest of the GC contenders. Same goes for the 24-year-old Alexander Vlasov (Astana). It might have been the illness that forced him out of the Giro but he finished 4:31 down on Roglič.
Now, let’s focus on the ones who did finish in the front group. Who do you think will challenge Roglič? The 34-year-old Dan Martin? Carapaz and the Ineos Grenadiers? Or will it be Enric Mas, the Spaniard? Let us know your opinion!
General classification after stage 1
1. Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) – 4:22:33
2. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) + 5 s
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) + 7 s
4. Esteban Cháves (Mitchelton-Scott) + 11 s
5. Felix Großschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe)
6. Enric Mas (Movistar Team), all at same time
7. Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) + 14 s
8. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) + 20 s
9. George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) + 50 s
10. Andrea Bagioli (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) + 1:01
Points classification after stage 1
1. Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) – 25 points
2. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) – 20 points
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) – 16 points
Mountains classification after stage 1
1. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) – 10 points
2. Quentin Jaurégui (Ag2r La Mondiale) – 6 points
3. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 6 points
Youth classification after stage 1
1. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 4:22:35
2. Andrea Bagioli (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) + 50 s
3. Gino Mäder (NTT Pro Cycling) + 1:31
