Vuelta a España - Stage 1

Updated: August 26, 2023

The team time trial discipline is not enjoying its richest spell of popularity in pro racing at the moment, but it has a loyal supporter in the Vuelta a España, which kicks off with a TTT for the 16th time since the turn of the millennium.

Barcelona hosts the start of the 2023 Vuelta, putting on a 14.8km course through the heart of the Catalan capital on Saturday evening. With no fewer than 18 90-degree bends to negotiate, it’s a technical affair that would be a tricky test even in an individual format, never mind the need to keep a whole team together through the repeated changes of rhythm. Cohesion and communication will be more important than ever.

Read more: Start times for La Vuelta a España stage 1 TTT

The course starts out by the Mediterranean Sea in La Barceloneta district, heading up into the centre and northeast to Sant Martí before tracking southwest past Gaudí’s famous Sagrada Familia cathedral towards the finish by the Plaça de Espanya. The most sustained straight sections come on the southwestern leg in the second half of the parcours, with the longest coming through the Eixample district ahead of the final turn to the Plaça de Espanya.

With relatively few team time trials appearing in major races in the past few years, there is an air of unpredictability about the stage but, as ever, it’s the teams who are best drilled and have put the most hours in together who should flourish, while horsepower can obviously never be overlooked.

Having won the opening TTT at last year’s Vuelta, Jumbo-Visma will start as the favourites, not least since they come with both Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard and a support unit that includes Wilco Kelderman, Jan Tratnik, and Dylan van Baarle. Time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel will be looking to drag his Soudal Quick-Step team into contention, while Ineos Grenadiers have a formidable squad that contains Geraint Thomas, Filippo Ganna, Thymen Arensman, and Jonathan Castroviejo.

One major factor could be the weather, with thunderstorms forecast in Barcelona on Saturday evening. The route is technical enough in the dry but slippy roads could make for a very nervy affair.

Read more: Analysing Ineos Grenadiers’ Vuelta a España team

Speaking ahead of the Vuelta, Evenepoel laughed that he would like to sit in the wheels for the entirety of the course and save energy, before divulging some information on how his Soudal Quick-Step team would approach the course.

“It is a completely different TTT compared to last year,' acknowledged the Belgian. "It is pretty technical but I will not do it alone. We have strong guys in the team, [Mattia] Cattaneo, [Andrea] Bagioli, [Casper] Pedersen and myself, I think the four of us will be the big motors in the team, and the others just have to keep the pace and give us a rest. For sure, I will not ride alone on the front!”

For Quick-Step it will be a challenge to compete with the all-conquering Jumbo-Visma lineup that recently won the Vuelta a Burgos TTT in preparation for the race - with four out of the eight riders from the five-day race scheduled to lineup for the Dutch superteam on Saturday.

Read more: Remco Evenepoel relishes showdown with Jonas Vingegaard

We’ll be showing live and on-demand coverage of all 21 stages of this year’s Vuelta a España from Saturday, August 26 to Sunday, September 17, plus daily expert analysis on The Breakaway. Head over to GCN+ now to check the start times of each broadcast so that you don’t miss out on a moment of the action! As always, territory restrictions will apply.

Major Races

See All

Date	Event	Class
29 Jun - 21 Jul	Tour de France	2.UWT
12 Aug - 18 Aug	Tour de France Femmes	2.WWT
4 May - 26 May	Giro d'Italia	2.UWT
28 Apr - 5 May	Vuelta España Femenina	2.WWT

Provided by FirstCycling