In the pouring rain of Barcelona, last year’s winner Remco Evenepoel landed a points victory at the start of the 78th Tour of Spain.
The Belgian time trial world champion and his Belgian cycling team Soudal-Quick Step finished fourth in the team time trial in Barcelona on Saturday, 26 seconds ahead of the Jumbo Visma team with Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) and Giro winner Primoz Roglic (Slovenia).
Bora-hansgrohe in ninth place
However, the eleventh-placed jumbo team also had technical problems on the 14.8-kilometer course. The DSM team clinched victory with a lead of five tenths of a second over the Movistar team. The German Bora-hansgrohe team with Lennard Kämna and Emanuel Buchmann finished in ninth place, 28 seconds behind.
However, with the pouring rain and the onset of darkness, the conditions were borderline. “It’s totally ridiculous and a shame. The organizers should know what can happen,” Evenepoel complained.
The second stage also ends in Barcelona on Sunday. After the start in Mataró, however, there are already a number of tests awaiting the drivers over the 182 kilometers. A mountain in the second category and two climbs in the third category are on the program, including up to Montjuic just before the finish.
Race website
