Itzulia Basque Country: Primoz Roglic wins stage 1 time trial

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Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) won stage 1 of Itzulia Basque Country, beating Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) by two seconds in the 13.9km opening time trial in Bilbao. The Slovenian thus continues a remarkable sequence that has now seen him wear the leader’s jersey in each of his last 12 stage races.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) famously divested Roglič of the maillot jaune on the final weekend of last year’s Tour de France, and he initially looked set to deny his fellow Slovenian victory in their first head-to-head against the watch since that fateful time trial at La Planche des Belles Filles.

The last man down the start ramp in Bilbao, Pogačar began strongly on the climb to Santo Domingo, and he was quicker than Roglič at the intermediate checkpoint after 4.7km. His challenge faded over the latter part of the course, however, and by the time he hit the short but steep finishing climb to the Parque Etxebarria, it was already clear that he would not challenge Roglič’s time. He crossed the line in fifth place, 28 seconds down, just ahead of Volta a Catalunya winner Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers), who underlined his form with a solid sixth place here.

“It's not just [me and Pogačar] in this race. It's also the rest of the guys,” said Roglic after landing a weighty early blow in their duel in the Basque Country. “It's just stage 1 and a good day for us, but we need to keep the focus and look forward to the next days.”

Jumbo-Visma were strong performers across the board on Monday, with Roglič’s teammate Jonas Vingegaard taking third at 18 seconds and Tobias Foss coming home in fourth at 24 seconds. The flying McNulty, Pogačar and Yates were the only other riders to finish within half a minute of Roglič, though Paris-Nice winner Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) was just a shade slower at 31 seconds.

Elsewhere, Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe) conceded 36 seconds, while Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) faded after a very fast start to finish a further second back. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finished just inside the top 20 at 43 seconds, while Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) will be encouraged after limiting his losses to 49 seconds, particularly given that some other contenders were more than a minute down: Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) lost 1:06, Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) lost 1:08, while Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) conceded 1:29.

How it unfolded

The day belonged to Roglič, however, who was competing for the first time since he dislocated his shoulder in the crash that cost him Paris-Nice victory on the final day of the race last month. The 2018 Itzulia Basque Country winner was among the earliest starters on Monday, and he knew he was settling in for a long afternoon in the hot seat after he stopped the clock in 17:17.

Roglič calibrated his effort well across the 13.9km course, starting smoothly on the category 3 climb to Santo Domingo and then swooping through the technical section that followed before making light work of the 18 per cent ramps that led to the finish.

“It’s always a special time trial here in the Basque Country. I liked it. Climbing with the TT bike, some corners and descents and then at the end another steep climb, so a fun thing to do. I went as fast as I could,” he said after taking his place in the hot seat. “It went good, and we’ll what that means at the end, but yeah, I’m happy with the performance.”

Hirschi, who was just four seconds down at the 4.7km check, was one of the few riders to even vaguely threaten Roglič’s mark until McNulty rolled down the start ramp in the penultimate tranche of riders.

McNulty had been riding strongly at Paris-Nice until he was forced out by a crash on stage 6, and he arrives in the Basque Country fresh from a solid return to competition at the Volta a Catalunya.

The American was some five seconds quicker than Roglič at the 4.7km point and he rode strongly over the latter part of the course to boot, but he couldn’t quite match the Slovenian’s speed on the final kick to the line, and he had to settle for second at two seconds.

Pogačar had McNulty's and Hirschi’s rapid early times as a frame of reference when he rolled down the start ramp, and the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico winner looked a possible stage winner atop the climb of Santo Domingo.

He was only three seconds down on McNulty at the 4.7km mark, but he was unable to match his teammate’s speed over the downhill and flat sections, and he begins Itzulia Basque Country with a 28-second deficit on Roglič.

“It's wonderful to be back. I'm really happy with my performance today. It's a great day for us,” said Roglič.

“I would like to have the jersey at the end. We'll see how the race will go and we'll give everything.”