2023-08-26 20:06:02
BARCELONA (AP) — Romain Bardet of the DSM–Firmenich team won a rainy time trial through the streets of Barcelona to kick off the Tour of Spain on Saturday.
Defending champion Remco Evenepoel complained regarding the poor conditions for the riders due to the rain and it getting dark much earlier. Soudal-Quickstep and other teams had to compete in near darkness.
DSM had the best time of 17 minutes and 30 seconds and Lorenzo Milesi will be the first to wear the red jersey during the three-week race.
Evenepoel was visibly upset as he crossed the finish line, saying, “We’re not monkeys in a circus.”
The Belgian world time trial champion was upset that his team, which started in last place as last year’s champion, had to ride in complete darkness due to clouds that led to earlier than expected dark — and led to rains in an area that is in the midst of a drought.
He said they had “water on their faces” and might not see “one meter ahead”.
Evenepoel’s Soudal-Quickstep finished six seconds behind DSM and has a 22-second advantage over Jumbo-Visma, who is led by two-time Tour de France champion JONas Vingegaard and three-time Tour champion Primoz Roglic.
The 14.8-kilometre route began on the beach and led the competitors through the Sagrada Familia.
Stage 2 on Sunday is a hilly 182km course from Mataro to Barcelona.
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