Pogačar covered the 9.4km time trial with a winning time of 10:57, edging out runner-up Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep) by a fraction of a second. He was four seconds faster than third-placed Joshua Tarling (Netcompany Ineos).
Pogačar now leads the GC standings after the opening stage and will wear the leader's jersey into stage 2, a 214.3km race from Monaco to Manosque on Sunday.
Hatyer trails Pogačar in second place in the standings, but they are tied on time. While Tarling sits just four seconds back in the overall classification.
Sitting in fourth place is Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) at five seconds back, while Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease a Bike) is in fifth place at six seconds.
Sixth place goes to Oscar Chamberlain and seventh place to Léo Bisiaux, both Decathlon CMA CGM teammates who are now eight and nine seconds back, respectively.
Laporte's teammate Wout van Aert is sitting in eighth place, also at nine seconds back, while Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) is in ninth place at 10 seconds. Rounding out the top 10 is Arthur Kluckers (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) at 11 seconds back.
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Four-time Vuelta a España winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was the last rider to start and so the last rider to cross the line, 22 seconds slower than Pogačar and in 24th place.
Vuelta a España GC standings
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Position
Rider (Country) Team
Time
1
Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
10:57:51
2
Ethan Hayter (Gbr) Soudal Quick-Step
0:00:00
3
Joshua Tarling (Gbr) Netcompany INEOS
0:00:04
4
Callum Thornley (Gbr) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
0:00:05
5
Christophe Laporte (Fra) Team Visma | Lease a Bike
0:00:06
6
Oscar Chamberlain (Aus) Decathlon CMA CGM Team
0:00:08
7
Léo Bisiaux (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM Team
0:00:09
8
Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Visma | Lease a Bike
0:00:09
9
Finn Fisher-Black (Nzl) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
0:00:10
10
Arthur Kluckers (Lux) Tudor Pro Cycling Team
0:00:11
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Kirsten Frattini has been the Editor of Cyclingnews since December 2025, overseeing editorial operations and output across the brand and delivering quality, engaging content.
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Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
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