Tadej Pogacar has won the opening stage of La Vuelta a Espana by just nine-hundredths of a second -- but, with a little help from an Australian teammate, it could be the launch of a crushing and historic triumph.
The world's greatest cyclist delivered an explosive finish to edge British rider Ethan Hayter in the 9.4km opening time trial through the streets of his home in Monaco on Saturday (Sunday AEST).
Bidding to be just the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours after his one Giro d'Italia and five Tour de France victories, the Slovenian wasn't expected to take control so soon but a thunderous late charge enabled him to prevail astonishingly in 10 minutes 57.14 seconds to Hayter's 10:57.23.
It had been an emotional day for the peloton as Briton Josh Tarling, racing in honour of younger brother Finlay who was killed after being struck by a vehicle during the Volta a Portugal, came so close to winning the stage.
Pogacar really hoped he had. “When I was going to the start line I saw that Josh had the best time. I was really wishing he would win today," mused the Slovenian.
"I was going to give my best, but it was a strange moment, I was really rooting for Josh as well.
“Then I came to the intermediate point and I hear a different name, I hear Ethan Hayter is in front of me by three seconds, so I thought, 'I will give it everything, but no risks', I’ll see what happens'.”
Hayter had indeed pipped Tarling by four seconds but it still needed a monumental late push by Pogacar to then grab a leader's red jersey that, incredible as it sounds, he might even hold all the way to the finish in Granada in three weeks.
He'll still need help from his predictably strong UAE-Team Emirates-XRG team, which features the indestructible Australian Tour Down Under winner Jay Vine, who's back after a fourth bad crash this year, this time at the recent Tour of Burgos, to act as 'Pogi's' key domestique in the mountains.
The Australian time trial champion finished 13th on the day, just 14 seconds down, while rising 21-year-old compatriot, Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon CMA CGM) led for a while before ending nine seconds off the pace in seventh.
The race features a dozen Australians, including previous Vuelta stage winners Vine and Kaden Groves, Gympie's Alpecin-Premier Tech sprinter who's targeting the points race, and 2021 overall third-place finisher Jack Haig (Netcompany INEOS).
Pogacar is at La Vuelta for the first time since his Grand Tour debut as a 20-year-old in 2019, when he won three stages and finished third.
He's out to join Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil, Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Felice Gimondi, Vincenzo Nibali and Jonas Vingegaard as winners of all three Grand Tours.
Saturday's win was his 36th Grand Tour stage win altogether. “I was not expecting it. I’m really happy," he shrugged. "This red is a really nice colour.”
