This Monday, April 7, the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country took place with a time trial of 16.5 kilometers, leaving several surprises where each rider started with an interval of one minute.
The first rider to start was the Colombian Harold Tejada of XDS-ASTANA, while the last to go was the American of UAE EMIRATES-XRG, Brandon McNulty, who was part of the U.S. team in the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
Thus, after McNulty’s arrival it was confirmed that the German Maximilian Schachmann of SOUDAL-QUICK STEP remained as owner of the time trial with a time of 18 minutes and 37 seconds, riding at an average of 53 kilometers per hour on the Vitoria-Gasteiz track.
Undoubtedly, one of the most outstanding Colombians was Daniel Felipe Martínez, who gave 23 seconds and who is expected to be one of the protagonists in the next stages of the competition.
Now, the cyclists are preparing to face the second stage, which will have a single third-category pass and a 199.8-kilometer route between Pamplona-Iruña – Lodosa, in a day marked for the sprinters.
Classification of the 1st stage:
1. Maximilian Schachmann (GER/Soudal-Quick Step) – 18:37
2. João Almeida (POR/UAE Emirates-XRG) – m.t.
3. Florian Lipowitz (GER/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) a 0:01
4. Ethan Hayter (GBR/Soudal-Quick Step) a 0:06
5. Aleksandr Vlasov (RUS/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) a 0:10
6. Ilan Van Wilder (BEL/Soudal-Quick Step) a 0:11
7. Victor Campenaerts (BEL/Visma-Lease a Bike) a 0:12
8. Mattias Skjelmose (DEN/Lidl-Trek) a 0:06. a 0:12
9. Bruno Armirail (FRA/Decathlon-AG2R) a 0:13
10. Michael Leonard (CAN/Ineos Grenadiers) a 0:16