Vuelta a España stage 21 time trial start times
Roglič looks to wrap up record-equalling fourth overall title in race against the clock
The 2024 Vuelta a España is bookended by time trials, with the final day in Madrid coming down to a 24.6km race against the clock instead of the normal circuit race in the capital city.
Tim Naberman (DSM-FirmenichPostNL) will kick things off as the first down the start ramp at 16:30, which is located in the northern outskirts of Madrid, with current race leader Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) set to bring the curtain down on the 2024 race two and a half hours later.
Roglič's lead seems insurmountable at 2:02 from Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), however, he will need to get around the course safely to confirm his red jersey and take a record-equalling fourth Vuelta title, as many as Roberto Heras. The Slovenian is the last off the ramp at 19:04.
O'Connor will have the bigger fight on his hands as he tries to defend a nine-second lead over Enric Mas (Movistar) in third to defend the best-ever GC position of his career at a Grand Tour. On paper, the Australian is the much superior time trial rider, so O'Connor will be confident.
Another key battle on GC that should unfold in the time trial will be David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) against Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) for the top five, with the Frenchman leading the Dane, who is a much faster TT rider, by just 30 seconds.
The key GC movements will occur at the end of the stage, with the riders all setting off in reverse order of the current overall standings.
While Roglič will be one of the favourites for the day, the flat profile and his need to stay safe should give the specialists who have survived the brutal three weeks of this year's Vuelta a big chance at victory.
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Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), stage 1 winner Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike), Victor Campenaets (Lotto Dstny) and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) should be among those looking for the win throughout the 24.6 kilometres en route to Madrid's most famous street - Gran Vía.
They set off at 18:06 (Küng), 17:52 (McNulty), 16:46 (Affini), 16:54 (Campenaerts) and 17:42 (Vacek) respectively.
Stage 21 Start times (CEST)
| Position | Rider | Start time (CEST) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Naberman (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) | 16:30:00 |
| 2 | Ide Schelling (Astana Qazaqstan) | 16:31:00 |
| 3 | Kamil Gradek (Bahrain-Victorious) | 16:32:00 |
| 4 | Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) | 16:33:00 |
| 5 | Julius van den Berg (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) | 16:34:00 |
| 6 | Enzo Leijnse (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) | 16:35:00 |
| 7 | Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 16:36:00 |
| 8 | Nicolya Vinokurov (Astana Qazaqstan) | 16:37:00 |
| 9 | Casper Pedersen (T-Rex Quick-Step) | 16:38:00 |
| 10 | Maurice Ballerstedt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 16:39:00 |
| 11 | Alessandro De Marchi (Jayco AlUla) | 16:40:00 |
| 12 | Gleb Brussenskiy (Astana Qazaqstan) | 16:41:00 |
| 13 | Riley Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech) | 16:42:00 |
| 14 | Jasha Sütterlin (Bahrain-Victorious) | 16:43:00 |
| 15 | Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty) | 16:44:00 |
| 16 | Kasper Asgreen (T-Rex Quick-Step) | 16:45:00 |
| 17 | Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) | 16:46:00 |
| 18 | Owain Doull (EF Education-EasyPost) | 16:47:00 |
| 19 | Sven Erik Bystrom (Groupama-FDJ) | 16:48:00 |
| 20 | Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 16:49:00 |
| 21 | Pavel Bittner (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) | 16:50:00 |
| 22 | Antonio Jesus Soto Guirau (Kern Pharma) | 16:51:00 |
| 23 | Nadav Raisberg (Israel-Premier Tech) | 16:52:00 |
| 24 | Jorge Arcas (Movistar) | 16:53:00 |
| 25 | Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) | 16:54:00 |
| 26 | Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Dstny) | 16:55:00 |
| 27 | Geoffrey Bouchard (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) | 16:56:00 |
| 28 | Victor Lafay (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) | 16:57:00 |
| 29 | Kim Heiduk (Ineos Grenadiers) | 16:58:00 |
| 30 | Santiago Umba (Astana Qazaqstan) | 16:59:00 |
| 31 | Luca Vergallito (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 17:00:00 |
| 32 | Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Euskaltel-Euskadi) | 17:01:00 |
| 33 | Felix Engelhardt (Jayco AlUla) | 17:02:00 |
| 34 | Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Euskaltel-Euskadi) | 17:03:00 |
| 35 | Ibon Ruiz Sedano (Kern Pharma) | 17:04:00 |
| 36 | Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 17:05:00 |
| 37 | Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Kern Pharma) | 17:06:00 |
| 38 | James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost) | 17:07:00 |
| 39 | Lorenzo Germani (Groupama-FDJ) | 17:08:00 |
| 40 | Juri Hollmann (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 17:09:00 |
| 41 | Brandon Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers) | 17:10:00 |
| 42 | Reuben Thompson (Groupama-FDJ) | 17:11:00 |
| 43 | Oier Lazkano (Movistar) | 17:12:00 |
| 44 | Otto Vergaerde (Lidl-Trek) | 17:13:00 |
| 45 | Arjen Livyns (Lotto Dstny) | 17:14:00 |
| 46 | Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Dstny) | 17:15:00 |
| 47 | Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) | 17:16:00 |
| 48 | Lukasz Owsian (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) | 17:17:00 |
| 49 | Fran Miholjević (Bahrain-Victorious) | 17:18:00 |
| 50 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Lotto Dstny) | 17:19:00 |
| 51 | Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) | 17:20:00 |
| 52 | Gijs Leemreize (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) | 17:21:00 |
| 53 | Unai Iribar Jauregi (Kern Pharma) | 17:22:00 |
| 54 | Thomas Champion (Cofidis) | 17:23:00 |
| 55 | Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty) | 17:24:00 |
| 56 | Harrison Sweeney (EF Education-EasyPost) | 17:25:00 |
| 57 | Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 17:26:00 |
| 58 | Jonas Gregaard (Lotto Dstny) | 17:27:00 |
| 59 | Laurens Huys (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) | 17:28:00 |
| 60 | Mathis Le Berre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) | 17:29:00 |
| 61 | Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) | 17:30:00 |
| 62 | Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) | 17:31:00 |
| 63 | Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) | 17:32:00 |
| 64 | Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) | 17:33:00 |
| 65 | Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) | 17:34:00 |
| 66 | Joan Bou Company (Euskaltel-Euskadi) | 17:35:00 |
| 67 | Carlos Canal (Movistar) | 17:36:00 |
| 68 | Filippo Baroncini (UAE Team Emirates) | 17:37:00 |
| 69 | Christopher Hamilton (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) | 17:38:00 |
| 70 | James Knox (T-Rex Quick-Step) | 17:39:00 |
| 71 | Luis Angel Mate (Euskaltel-Euskadi) | 17:40:00 |
| 72 | Pablo Castrillo (Kern Pharma) | 17:41:00 |
| 73 | Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) | 17:42:00 |
| 74 | Martijn Tusveld (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) | 17:43:00 |
| 75 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) | 17:44:00 |
| 76 | Torstein Træen (Bahrain-Victorious) | 17:45:00 |
| 77 | Louis Vervaeke (T-Rex Quick-Step) | 17:46:00 |
| 78 | Pau Miquel (Kern Pharma) | 17:47:00 |
| 79 | Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) | 17:48:00 |
| 80 | Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla) | 17:49:00 |
| 81 | Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) | 17:50:00 |
| 82 | Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) | 17:51:00 |
| 83 | Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) | 17:52:00 |
| 84 | Robert Gesink (Visma-Lease a Bike) | 17:53:00 |
| 85 | Gotzon Martin (Euskaltel-Euskadi) | 17:54:00 |
| 86 | Jhonotan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers) | 17:55:00 |
| 87 | Mauri Vansevenant (T-Rex Quick-Step) | 17:56:00 |
| 88 | Gianmarco Garofoli (Astana Qazaqstan) | 17:57:00 |
| 89 | Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) | 17:58:00 |
| 90 | Jefferson Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost) | 17:59:00 |
| 91 | Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) | 18:00:00 |
| 92 | William Junior Lecerf (T-Rex Quick-Step) | 18:01:00 |
| 93 | Roger Adria (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) | 18:02:00 |
| 94 | Urko Berrade (Kern Pharma) | 18:03:00 |
| 95 | Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) | 18:04:00 |
| 96 | Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan) | 18:05:00 |
| 97 | Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) | 18:06:00 |
| 98 | Giovanni Aleotti (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) | 18:07:00 |
| 99 | Isaac Del Torro (UAE Team Emirates) | 18:08:00 |
| 100 | Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) | 18:09:00 |
| 101 | Max Poole (DSM-FirmenichPostNL) | 18:10:00 |
| 102 | George Bennett (Israel-Premier Tech) | 18:11:00 |
| 103 | Sam Oomen (Lidl-Trek) | 18:12:00 |
| 104 | Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek) | 18:13:00 |
| 105 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | 18:14:00 |
| 106 | Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) | 18:15:00 |
| 107 | Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) | 18:16:00 |
| 108 | Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty) | 18:17:00 |
| 109 | Einer Rubio (Movistar) | 18:18:00 |
| 110 | Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel-Euskadi) | 18:19:00 |
| 111 | Attila Valter (Visma-Lease a Bike) | 18:20:00 |
| 112 | Oscar Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) | 18:21:00 |
| 113 | Mattia Cattaneo (T-Rex Quick-Step) | 18:22:00 |
| 114 | Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious) | 18:23:00 |
| 115 | Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) | 18:24:00 |
| 116 | Clément Berthet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) | 18:26:00 |
| 117 | Steven Kruijswijk (Visma-Lease a Bike) | 18:28:00 |
| 118 | Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) | 18:30:00 |
| 119 | Jose Felix Parra Cuerdo (Kern Pharma) | 18:32:00 |
| 120 | Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana Qazaqstan) | 18:34:00 |
| 121 | Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) | 18:36:00 |
| 122 | Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) | 18:38:00 |
| 123 | Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) | 18:40:00 |
| 124 | Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) | 18:42:00 |
| 125 | Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla) | 18:44:00 |
| 126 | Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) | 18:46:00 |
| 127 | Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates) | 18:48:00 |
| 128 | Mikel Landa (T-Rex Quick-Step) | 18:50:00 |
| 129 | Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) | 18:52:00 |
| 130 | Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) | 18:54:00 |
| 131 | David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) | 18:56:00 |
| 132 | Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) | 18:58:00 |
| 133 | Enric Mas (Movistar) | 19:00:00 |
| 134 | Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) | 19:02:00 |
| 135 | Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) | 19:04:00 |
James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.
