Decathlon youngsters shine in Vuelta time trial, but Felix Gall loses ground to podium rivals

Decathlon CMA CGM made a major impression on Saturday, placing two of their young talents inside the top ten of the time trial on Stage 1 of the Vuelta a España. Léo Bisiaux (21) produced a surprise sixth-place finish, ending the day just one second faster than teammate Oscar Chamberlain (21). General classification leader Felix Gall had a less successful afternoon against the clock, although his team were keen to put a positive spin on his performance afterwards.

Bisiaux, who had just extended his contract with Decathlon showed no fear as he mixed it with some of the biggest names in the race. “It was a good time trial and a great first day to get into this Vuelta. The most important thing was to avoid crashes and give everything. That’s what I did,” he said afterwards, somewhat understating an excellent ride through Monaco.

Speaking through the team’s channels, Bisiaux added: “I felt pretty quickly that the legs were responding well, and I’m happy with my time. I like these kinds of efforts; they are similar to what you do in cyclocross, even though this was faster. The most important thing, though, was to stay upright, with three important weeks ahead of us with Felix.”

Chamberlain did not speak after the stage, but sports director Cyril Dessel certainly did. “It’s a fantastic start for the whole team, with two riders in the top ten,” he said enthusiastically about the performances of his two 21-year-olds. “It was a short time trial, but everyone was extremely focused and committed.” Bisiaux eventually finished sixth, while Chamberlain took seventh as Decathlon’s youngsters provided one of the biggest surprises of the opening stage.

Dessel was also able to put into perspective the fact that Gall and his second GC option Matthew Riccitello both conceded 46 seconds to stage winner Tadej Pogačar. “Felix and Matthew delivered what we expected from them as climbers, on a course that didn’t suit them,” the French sports director stressed. Gall and Riccitello consequently sit side by side in the general classification after the first day, with plenty of more favourable terrain still to come over the next three weeks.

Dessel then perhaps went a little too far with his assessment of the situation. “We rode roughly the same times as our rivals for the podium, so it’s a great start and a successful day.” That was not entirely accurate. Among the leading GC names, only Oscar Onley of Netcompany INEOS, who finished 50 seconds behind Pogačar, and Movistar’s Cian Uijtdebroeks, at 54 seconds, recorded slower times than Gall and Riccitello. The Decathlon pair therefore already have some time to make up on several of the riders they could be fighting for a podium place later in the race.

Several of Decathlon’s expected podium rivals instead took valuable seconds out of Gall and Riccitello on the very first day. Primož Roglič finished 24 seconds ahead of Gall, while Carlos Rodríguez was 19 seconds faster and Mattias Skjelmose gained 17 seconds. The experienced climbing duo of Enric Mas and Richard Carapaz also finished 13 seconds ahead of the Decathlon leaders. None of those gaps are decisive after a 9.4-kilometre opening time trial, but they do make Dessel’s description of the day as an across-the-board success look somewhat optimistic.