Evenepoel wins, but no leader’s jersey after Tour of Valencia jury intervention in heavy storm

There was already plenty of drama on Wednesday in the opening stage of the five-day race in Valencia. Ahead of the final climb of the day, a high-speed crash ripped through the peloton and brought down some big names — including Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and INEOS Grenadiers rider Tobias Foss.

The aftermath was grim for the Scandinavians. Lidl-Trek later confirmed a wrist fracture and a broken collarbone for their spring leader Pedersen, while Foss is also expected to spend time on the sidelines after suffering a fractured shoulder blade. Girmay eventually took the stage win on his debut for NSN, but Pedersen’s crash left the biggest mark on the day’s headlines.

Between Carlet and Alginet, the riders were due to race a 17.5-kilometre individual time trial, featuring a 3.1-kilometre rise at 3.6% in the middle. Eddy Huntsman (APS) set off first, while fans had to wait until late in the day for Evenepoel — who started near the end thanks to a bonus second earned on Wednesday.

But before the key contenders really began, it became clear this would not be a normal race against the clock. The wind picked up — and not just a little. Conditions were genuinely stormy, enough for the organisers and jury to step in. The verdict: the stage would still have a winner, but no time differences would be recorded. Riders would also be required to use standard road bikes, rather than time trial bikes.

And so the time trial turned into a very unusual contest: who would take risks and go for the stage, and who would simply focus on getting to the finish upright? Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates–XRG) clearly fancied it, setting the first real benchmark at a little over 21 minutes for the 17 kilometres.

Young Belgian Jonathan Vervenne (Soudal Quick-Step) showed no fear either, coming within three seconds of the best time. From there, it became a question of who felt comfortable pushing on. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) tried, while João Almeida — one of the favourites for overall victory — rode as cautiously as expected, giving away a lot of seconds in the process.

Brandon McNulty did go for it. The American posted the fastest intermediate times and ultimately finished 13 seconds ahead of his team-mate, taking the hot seat. Several strong testers, including Iván Romeo (Movistar), could not match McNulty’s mark, though others were flying later on — with Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) and Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) proving faster on the road.

Would Evenepoel, unlike Almeida, commit fully? As world champion, he almost had to — and it quickly became clear he was racing for the win. Vacek and Turner were rapid at the finish, and Evenepoel was seven seconds quicker than the Czech at the intermediate check.

The surprise of the day came from Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe), who produced an outstanding second half and went seven seconds under Vacek’s time. In the end, only his team-mate could beat him: Evenepoel won by around eight seconds. Still, there was no leader’s jersey for the Belgian, as race leader Girmay could take it easy under the jury’s rule.