The first and the last. This is how the story of this Vuelta began for Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel), who opened the time trial – his team, Euskaltel, requested it, in collusion with the organization – in what will be his last competition before getting off the bike, already retired at 40 years and 148 days, ahead of Alessandro de Marchi (Jayco; 38 years and 91 days). He was the first to cover the 12 kilometers of the route from Lisbon to Oeiras, very flat, with an initial breeze that was not uncomfortable, then a more insolent wind, but an invitation for everyone to power and strength, to pedal fire along the promenade next to the sea, there where the Tagus flows into the Atlantic. And in that, to ride faster, no one could beat the amazing Brandon McNulty, American from the UAE. Prodigious cadence, cod gold. “I didn’t expect it, it’s hard to believe,” he said after winning, a little moustache under his nose, his face marked by acne, the jersey of the champion of the United States time trial, now red for the Vuelta.
The team buses were already crowding near the start line early in the morning, as the cyclists wanted to cover the route for the last time before tackling it in the afternoon, to understand the possible areas where they could gain seconds, to see where to push hard in the curves. Meanwhile, the tents with official Vuelta products were being erected, repeating their advertisements like a broken record, other promotional tents from Portugal giving away local products, various entertainments such as the stunts of Alejandro Montalvo, the cyclist who won the Trials World Cup in Wadowic (Poland). There were also, of course, the technical commissioners to check the goatsso that there were no irregularities, such as the saddle and handlebars not crossing certain perpendicular lines to comply with the conservative UCI regulations, as well as the angles of the handlebars and saddle. “It is off by four millimetres,” the commissioner tells an Arkéa mechanic, referring to Laurens Huys’ bike, which coincidentally finished second to last. “Yes, yes, several modifications have to be made, it is not unusual,” explains Miguel Ángel Lázaro from the technical area. Tweaks and racing.
Cyclists paraded through the park, delighting the fans, who asked for selfies, autographs, and even a souvenir just in case. In between, however, they eagerly climbed into the buses to take refuge in the air conditioning, as the sun was beating down fiercely, a blistering 32 degrees, to the point that tourists were approaching the large fountain in the surrounding gardens to dip their feet in. There was a crowd of people, as the race started at the Jerónimos Monastery, named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983, a Manueline-style church that mixes architectural and decorative motifs from late Gothic to Renaissance, and also the cloister chapel where, among others, the navigator Vasco da Gama and the writer Fernando Pessoa are buried, as well as, of course, kings of Portugal such as Manuel I the Fortunate and his wife Maria of Aragon, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, John III and Catherine of Austria… Although yesterday the king of Lisbon was McNulty.
Enric Mas, who has sometimes been at odds with the time trials, set a time that was more than suggestive to start with, determined not to be torn down like a daisy at the first opportunity; Landa fared worse, more comfortable when the road gets steep; Edoardo Affini (Visma), a consummate specialist whose glory in Italy can only be spoiled by Filippo Ganna (Ineos), set a time to beat; something that Joshua Tarling (Ineos) was unable to achieve by tenths of a second, who was deprived of a medal at the Paris Games by the misfortune of a puncture, whose legs allowed him to become the crown prince of Lisbon because he was the youngest in the competition (20 years 185 days; compared to 20 and 284 for Isaac del Toro, from UAE). There were still candidates for the throne, such as Carlos Rodríguez and Kuss – a discreet time trial – as well as Roglic, who was the best of those aspiring to the general classification (17 seconds behind). The podium was completed by the Czech Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek, two seconds behind), another irreverent young man who was not expected, dedicated as a child to cross-country skiing – he participated in the Youth Games in 2020 -, finally a cyclist since 2021, and the always competitive Van Aert (Visma), third at three seconds. But the feat was McNulty’s, a victory with a taste of Arizona, a specialist in the time trial – champion of the United States in the last two years -, an American who took Portugal. The crown is his.
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