MADRID, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tadej Pogacar got off to a good start in Vuelta a Espana on Saturday when the Slovenian won the opening stage time trial in Monaco to take the race leader's red jersey.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, who won his fifth Tour de France title this summer, finished the 9.4-kilometer course in 10 minutes and 57 seconds, just ahead of Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) and four seconds ahead of Joshua Tarling (Netcompany Ineos).
Pogacar, who finished third in his only Vuelta participation in 2019, was able to put more time into some of his main rivals for this year's race, with a 22-second advantage of Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe), 33 seconds over Enric Mas (Movistar) and the same time ahead of Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost).
"It's a weird feeling to win the time trial on the first stage and by such a small margin. I was not expecting it. I'm really happy," Pogacar said.
Sunday's second stage takes the race over 214 kilometers of rolling terrain from Monaco to Manosque, before crossing over into Spain on Monday for a tough mountain stage. ■
