Tadej Pogačar strikes immediately at Vuelta a España with Monaco time trial victory

The opening time trial of the Vuelta a España has been won by Tadej Pogačar. On the streets of his adopted home of Monaco, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG Slovenian edged an extraordinarily tight battle to take both the stage victory and the red jersey. Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) finished just nine hundredths of a second behind, while Josh Tarling (Netcompany INEOS) took third.

The course started outside the famous Monte Carlo Casino before heading towards Monaco's northern border, turning back and passing through a technical section before heading north once again. Another 180-degree turn followed, before a long run towards the southern border with France and one final stretch to the finish.

In total, the course featured 25 corners in just 9.4 kilometres, making this an exceptionally technical time trial. That gave the more explosive, punchy riders an advantage over the pure time trial specialists, who would normally benefit more from being able to sustain their power over long, uninterrupted stretches.

That made for an intriguing field of contenders. Alongside established specialists such as Josh Tarling (Netcompany INEOS), Stefan Küng (Tudor), Jay Vine (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step), riders such as Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) also came into the equation. And, of course, Tadej Pogačar could hardly be overlooked — particularly on the streets of the city he calls home.

At 4.17 p.m., Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma) became the first rider to roll down the start ramp, but it was Jordan Labrosse who established the first serious benchmark. The Decathlon CMA CGM Frenchman covered the course in 11 minutes and 20 seconds. Richard Carapaz was also among the early starters. The EF Education-EasyPost leader is targeting the podium in this Vuelta and completed the time trial ten seconds slower than Labrosse.

We also saw several of the first general classification contenders early in the afternoon. Carlos Rodriguez (Netcompany INEOS), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) all posted comparable times, but Matthew Brennan established a new fastest time. The Visma | Lease a Bike Brit was seven seconds quicker than Labrosse and two seconds faster than Labrosse's teammate Sander De Pestel.

Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) had a more difficult afternoon and already conceded around twenty seconds to several of his podium rivals, while Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), who started just ahead of him, produced an excellent time trial. The Austrian is certainly no specialist against the clock, but he was still slightly faster than Onley. Most of the GC contenders appeared closely matched, but it was already clear that meaningful time could be lost on this short course.

Arthur Kluckers (Tudor) was next to go slightly faster than Brennan, only for Oscar Chamberlain to improve the benchmark again. The 21-year-old Australian from Decathlon CMA CGM produced an outstanding ride, finishing two seconds faster than the Luxembourger. The youngsters were clearly thriving on the technical Monaco course, with Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) also moving towards the top of the standings.

Chamberlain did not remain in the hot seat for long, however, thanks to teammate Léo Bisiaux. The Frenchman, the same age as the Australian, went less than a second faster. Just a few minutes later, Callum Thornley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) knocked him off top spot again, this time by three seconds. The biggest names, though, were still to come.

The first of those major contenders was Josh Tarling. There had been uncertainty over whether the Netcompany INEOS Brit would start following the tragic death of his younger brother Finlay, but he was on the start line in Monaco. Would he have the legs to deliver? The answer was yes — just. Tarling went a little more than one second faster than his younger compatriot.

Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) came close, but not close enough. The real danger instead came from another British rider. National time trial champion Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) was already three seconds faster at the intermediate checkpoint and, by the finish, had opened the gap to Tarling to four seconds to take over the hot seat.

Then it was time for the biggest stars, with Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) taking their turns. The Dane was five seconds down on the fastest time at the intermediate point, and by the finish that deficit had grown to 16 seconds. Van Aert was a little closer on the road but was unable to make up the difference over the closing kilometres either, crossing the line nine seconds behind Hayter. Had the British champion set an unbeatable time?

Tadej Pogačar started second-to-last, just ahead of Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). The first of the two Slovenians, and the overwhelming favourite for the red jersey, was only a little more than two seconds down during the course. On streets he knows inside out, Pogačar eventually snatched victory by the tiniest of margins: just nine hundredths of a second. Roglič also produced a solid ride, although he still conceded time.

1. Tadej Pogacar
2. Ethan Hayter "
3. Josh Tarling + 0.04