Torrevieja (Spain) (AFP)
"Superman" is already flying! Winner of the team time trial with his Astana squad, Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez took the first red jersey of the Tour of Spain 2019 on Saturday in Torrevieja (south-east) during an inaugural stage marked by the fall from the favorite Primoz Roglic.
Well supported by the Kazakh team, "Superman" Lopez (25) crossed the line in the lead after a great collective effort, completing the 13.4 km course, set in the spectacular setting of the salt marshes of Torrevieja , in 14 minutes 51 seconds and 08 tenths.
Astana beat Belgium's Deuceninck-Quick Step by 2 seconds and Sunweb's Germans by 5 seconds. Rigoberto Uran's EF-Education First spent 7 seconds, Nairo Quintana's Movistar dropped 16 seconds, as did France's Groupama-FDJ.
Jumbo-Visma were expected to dominate in the same exercise on the Tour de France, but the Dutch side and its leader Roglic saw their chances of a stage win reduced to nothing by negotiating a bit of a technical bickering. Several of them hit the protections that had been placed along the barriers.
- Morale started -
Among the runners on the ground, Roglic was quick to bike but the Slovenian, presented as the favorite of this Vuelta, had the left thigh started. And probably morale too, with a payout of forty seconds upon arrival on Astana.
The Kazakh team is the big winner of the day: Miguel Angel Lopez has taken the lead over most of his opponents, which confirm his ambition to live "a grandiose Vuelta" after his third place won last year.
The Colombian, also third in the Tour of Italy in the spring, is perhaps the best climber on this Vuelta. This is not good news for his rivals that he took the lead in the timed exercise, which put him at a disadvantage on paper.
Given the small differences, his red jersey could still be threatened at the second leg (199.6 km) Sunday between Benidorm and Calpe, on the Valencian coast and the winter training routes of most teams in the peloton. With a 2nd category climb judiciously placed 15 km from the finish to encourage offensives ...
© 2019 AFP