2021 Vuelta a España Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2021 Vuelta a España is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Roglic takes opening stage of Vuelta a España
Roglic started the Vuelta off on the right foot today and won the opening 7.1km time trial, just as he did in 2020, with a time of 8’32’’. The Slovenian is the defending champ and the rider to beat over the next three weeks. Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech) ended up second, after spending the majority of the race in the hot seat, clocking 8’38". Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) took third.
“This is crazy," Roglic said. "Obviously it was enough for winning. I'm pleased and happy with today's result. A 7km effort was still super hard. It was all out from start to finish. I had nothing left when I crossed the line. I don't know where I won it. The fact is I went fast on the uphill and I had to survive the corners. We'll see how long I keep the red jersey. It's a beautiful start again. I'm enjoying it. Hopefully we can enjoy leading La Vuelta with the team in the coming days. But I know how difficult it is.”
Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) will start tomorrow in the king of the mountains jersey after being the fastest up “I knew the climb was the only part of the course for me to use my strength so I went as hard as I could on the climb. I just tried to hold on on the last part of the course. It was a short effort, not like the real mountains but for sure it's good for the confidence. Primoz [Roglic] is right on form, starting where he left up at the Olympics. It's really good for the team atmosphere to start La Vuelta like this.”
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