Kelderman "wanted to accelerate", Vingegaard clearly not: "Glad we all agreed"

At Visma | Lease a Bike, there were satisfied and especially relieved faces after the first stage of O Gran Camiño. The Dutch team saw all seven riders safely cross the finish line in a time trial that had to be completed on normal road bikes due to the storm in Spain.

Before the time trial began, it was decided that the times would not count towards the various rankings, allowing each rider to decide whether or not to push for a good result. Wilco Kelderman finished sixth and was the top performer for Visma | Lease a Bike. Team leader Jonas Vingegaard opted for a more relaxed approach and finished 45th.

"I had trained hard for this, so I wanted to give it my all today," Kelderman explained his decision to push hard, via his team's official channels. "I felt strong on the road, and after my time trial, I even had the chance to sit in the hot seat for a while. It's unfortunate that circumstances dictated the end of the race, but I'm looking forward to the next few days."

The decision to ride cautiously and not compete for the day's victory received approval from team leader Frans Maassen. "Safety is our top priority, so I'm pleased that we all reached a consensus. Of course, it's disappointing that we couldn't race at full speed because it was a beautiful course. The most important thing is that everyone safely completed the stage, and in that regard, we succeeded."

Tarling leaves everyone behind

Joshua Tarling won the time trial and may wear the leader's jersey on Friday for form's sake. The British cyclist from INEOS Grenadiers was "super happy" in the flash interview. "The time trial was very challenging and tricky due to the wind, which made it very difficult. The last four kilometers were tougher than during the reconnaissance, with the wind blowing at full force. There was no easy moment, even the descent was challenging. We aim to keep the leader's jersey within the team; we are in great shape, and everyone is performing well."