2024 Vuelta a Espana Stage 1 | Highlights

Report

Brandon McNulty delivered a career-defining performance in the stage 1 time trial from Lisbon to Oeiras at the Vuelta a España, securing a narrow victory and taking the leader’s jersey for the first time in a Grand Tour.

The American cyclist navigated the course with precision, finishing just two seconds ahead of Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek). Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) rounded out the podium, having started last.

McNulty, starting second-to-last, had the advantage of knowing his rivals’ times. At the 7 km mark, Van Aert was slightly ahead, with McNulty trailing by two seconds. However, McNulty’s strength shone through in the final stretch, where he achieved an impressive average speed of 57.197 kph to claim victory.

Reflecting on his win, McNulty said, “I don’t know if I expected to win but I knew if something crazy happened, then I could win – so I guess something crazy happened. I was hoping for something good today but this is hard to believe for me. I just had super good legs. I’ve been feeling really good in training. I really went for the Olympics, and I’ve had good legs since then. I knew I could do something good, but I didn’t expect to win.”

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling.com