Cycling: Brandon McNulty won the opening race of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana and thus took the red jersey. In the battle against the clock in Lisbon, the American was two seconds faster than Mathias Vacek from the Czech Republic, who almost managed a huge sensation.
McNulty races into the red jersey in Lisbon
Our preview of Brandon McNulty (UAE) hardly anyone expected today. The US time trial champion won today's battle against the clock and will therefore start tomorrow in the red jersey. On the 12-kilometer course from Lisbon to Oeiras he was two and three seconds faster than Mathias Vacek (Lidl – Trek) and wout van aert (Visma – Lease a Bike). Top favorite Joshua Tarling (Ineos – Grenadiers) could not fulfill the expectations placed in him. The European champion had to settle for sixth place. The Swiss Stefan Kung (Groupama – FDJ) and Mauro Schmid (Jayco – AlUla) finished fourth and seventh. Florian Lipowitz (Bora – hansgrohe). The German finished twelfth on the day.
Tomorrow it's the sprinters' turn
The Vuelta a Espana 2024 is also not an event for sprinters. Tomorrow, however, the fast men can hope for the day's victory. There are only two mountain classifications to be completed on the 194-kilometer section from Cascais to Ourém. The favorites in a potential mass sprint include the Belgian wout van aert (Visma – Lease a Bike) the French Bryan coquard (Cofidis) and especially the Australian Caden Groves (Alpecin – Deceuninck).