As it happened: Kuss defends Vuelta a España lead as Evenepoel gains time

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 10 of the 2023 Vuelta a España!

Everything is set in Valladolid for the very important TT. 

Riders will begin departing the starting ramp at 14:01 CEST.

This is the only individual time trial of the 2023 edition of the race and unfolds over 25.8km around Valladolid.

The course features an early solitary 600m climb at 6.5% and then is flat and fast, so it should suit the time trial specialists like Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) but also Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) as he clashes with Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). 

Evenepoel is fourth on GC, two minutes and 22 seconds behind race leader Sepp Kuss, with his Jumbo-Visma teammates Roglič and Vingegaard just a little behind Evenepoel in sixth and seventh place on the overall. 

Stage 10 offers Evenepoel a chance to close the gap on Kuss significantly and open it even a little further to others threats. He'll be looking to bring home his advantage in this individual battle, the one place where rivals like Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates can't play to their strength in numbers near the top of the leaderboard.

The top 20 riders overall start the time trial from 16:24 CEST, leaving in two minute intervals instead of the one minute gap for those departing earlier. Race leader Kuss will be the final competitor to take off from the start gate at 17:02. 

Cyclingnews will have full live coverage of the time trial, with a stage report and rider reaction from Valladolid.

Click the link below to see the full start time list.

Vuelta a España 2023 stage 10 time trial start times

This morning riders went out for a quick recon ride of the course. This is what Geraint Thomas thought of it.

This the map of the Valladolid time trial. 

We're getting close the moment Jayco-AlUla's Callum Scotson, sets off at 14:01 (CEST). 

Lots of riders are already warming-up for their effort.

161 riders are expected to start today, with Astana announcing that Javier Oliver won’t continue the race due to a fracture in L3 vertebra after his crash in Stage 9. 

There he goes! Jayco-AlUla's Callum Scotson is off. 

Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) kept the race leader's La Roja jersey on Sunday and the time trial is key for his potential GC ambitions. 

The American climber leads Marc Soler (UAE) 43 seconds and Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) by 1:02.

Among the main GC favourites, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) trails by 2:22, Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) by :’29, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Enric Mas (Movistar) by 2:33’, Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) by 2:43 and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) by 2:55.

The GC battle will surely look very different after the time trial. 

This was the moment Scotson rolled down the start ramp.

Fortunately the sun is out in Spain after days of days of rain and a tough transfer for some of the peloton.

Part of the peloton only arrived at their hotel at 3am after a long plane and then bus transfer north to Valladolid, and many riders forced to train indoors on the first rest day rather than endure another soaking in the rain.  

Click below for the full story. 

Rain storms disrupts Vuelta a España plane transfer and Monday’s rest day

Stefan Bissegger starts his ride. The EF rider and European champion is one of the favourites to win the stage today. 

Remco Evenepoel will race in the time trial world champion’s jersey for the first time on Tuesday at the Vuelta a España, confident that he is still on track to fight for overall victory.  

He won the TT and the overall in the 2022 Vuelta.

"The rainbow jersey will give me extra motivation and hopefully a few extra watts,” Evenepoel said in his rest day press conference.

“My goal is to win the time trial and take a second stage win. A time trial is always important in Grand Tours and we’ll see the time gaps after the rides. In principle, the time trial should suit me the best of all classification riders, so it'd be nice if I could take say half a minute." 

We'll see very soon if that happens.

Click below to read everything that Evenepoel said during the rest day, including his thoughts on the TT and his fear of Kuss. 

‘I see Kuss more as an outsider’ - Remco Evenepoel on the Jumbo-Visma triumvirate

The first riders have finished the 25.8km TT. 

Clément Davy (Groupama-FDJ) is fastest so far with 30:55. He was 30 seconds faster than Jimmy Janssens (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and so goes into the hot seat.  

As expected, Stefan Bissigger is super fast out on the course. 

He was 1:15 faster than Hugo Page at the 2nd intermediate time check and 1:37 faster than Davy.  

The sun is out and there is some wind today in Valladolid. 

The sky will be mainly cloudy with the possibility of occasional showers and thunderstorms. 

In the afternoon, the sky will be partly cloudy, temperatures will be pleasant, around 18ºC at the start of the stage, rising to 20 or 21ºC in the afternoon. 

The wind will be predominantly easterly, gusting to 20-30 kph.

Interestingly, the wind is expected to ba tail wind on the ride back to Valladolid. 

That could be a factor and an advantage for very aero riders like Evenepoel.

Boom! Bissigger finishes in a time of 28:58.

That's the time to beat. 

Bissegger was 1:18 faster than Hugo Page.  

Perhaps the only riders who can beat Bissegger are Ganna and Evenepoel.

Nico Denz is closest to Bissegger at intermediate 1, but he's 22 seconds slower and so probably not a threat.   

Filippo Ganna is off next.  

Ganna is racing in the Italian national champion's tricolore jersey.

Ganna is cutting the corners at speed, taking a few risks.

Whoosh! Ganna catches his minute-man on a corner and blasts past him.

Nico Denz does a good ride to finish just 16 seconds down on Bissegger. 

Meanwhile Kuss and Vingegaard arrive at the Jumbo-Visma bus to do their warm-up. 

Ganna is near the first time check.

Wow! Ganna is 32 seconds faster than Bissegger at time check 1. 

5km to go for Ganna. He's battling into the headwind on the way back to Valladolid.

He's now caught his 4-minute man, cutting under him on sa faster corner and roundabout.

Bissegger admitted he was not on a good day and so Ganna is on track to beat his time by almost a minute.

Ganna is chasing a police motorbike, so much so that it's almost an aerodynamic help.  

Ganna is putting down huge watts as he enters the final kilometre. 

Filippo Ganna sets a new fastest time of 27:39! 

He is 1:19 faster than Bissegger and raced at 56km/h.   

That is definitely the time to beat later by the GC contenders such Evenepoel and Roglic.

Filippo Ganna in action in the Vuelta time trial.

Ganna is warming down on the rollers before heading to the hot seat.

The other riders are still racing and finishing, though for many in the Vuelta peloton, today offers a chances to ride steady and rest up even more before the hard racing of week 2 into the Pyrenees. 

Tadej Pogacar opted against riding the Vuelta and has revealed his end of season plans. He will target Il Lombardia. 

He also talked about his 2023 season and the impact of his fractured wrist. 

Tadej Pogacar - ‘Without my fractured wrist, my season would have been perfect’

It's almost time for the GC riders to race. Joao Almeida is the first to start his warm-up in the team bus area in central Valladolid.

Juan Ayuso has also chosen his warm-up playlist and has an ice-vest to limit his core temperature. 

Matteo Sobrero (Jayco-AlUla) sets 29:23, that's fast and puts him in fourth place but is 1:43 slower than his often training partner Ganna. 

Every rider who finishes, takes a drink and recoveries after their effort. They all have to go hard to ensure they finish inside the time limit. 

Sadly Jefferson Cepeda is another non-starter today. That means there are 160 riders left in the race.

Geraint Thomas is fighting to keep his Vuelta GC hopes alive today. He is off now after slipping to 22nd in GC.

Read what he said below.

Geraint Thomas: 'You never say it's totally over' at the Vuelta a España

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) is in the hot seat, watching his rivals race.

“At the moment, I’m happy obviously. We’ll wait for the end, when the big riders come. I’m in a good shape, so we’ll see," he said. 

"I didn’t spin like at the worlds, but after nine very intense days, I suffered a little bit today but at the moment, I’m happy, and we’ll see tonight if we can celebrate or not. 

This morning, I woke up with the idea of using a 64 at the front, but then I went for a 62 because of the climb. It’s hard and with a 34 behind, I don’t have a good feeling, so I asked the mechanics to change before the race and I have to say a big thank you because they were really fast. I did my best, now we’ll see.”

Thomas fights over the early climb and heads to the long out and back section. He seems to be fighting his gear.

Evenepoel is warming up wearing an ice-vest and also wiping down the sweat as he gets ready for an intense 28-minute effort.

Cian Uijtdebroeks is off next. The young Belgian and Bora rider has impressed so far in this Vuelta.

Mattia Cattaneo stops the clock in 28:48 to finish second behind Ganna. He will perhaps provide some final advice to Evenepoel before he starts in 10 minutes.

Juan Ayuso is the next big-name to start. He gets lots of cheers from the Spanish crowd. 

They know he is a future Grand Tour talent.  

Roglic is on the start ramp. 

It's time for the GC battle! 

Jonas Vingegaard started 2 minutes ahead of Roglic.

Vlasov is fast and second at the intermediate split, 23 seconds slower than Ganna. 

Lets see what the others do now.

3-2-1. Evenepoel is off! 

Evenepoel has a new white TT bike to go with his world champion's jersey.

He makes white look fast. 

Kuss is still on the rollers but will soon head to the start ramp. He is last rider off as race leader.

Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) is off, confirming his good first week in the Vuelta.

Next off are Marc Soler (UAE) and then Kuss. 

It'll be fascinating to see if he can defend the red leader's jersey. 

Kuss is off!  

Vingegaard is third fastest at the time check, 25 seconds slower than Ganna.

Roglic is faster, only 10 seconds slower than Ganna.

Vlasov finishes fast and sets 28:31 to finish second.   

Evenepoel is 11 seconds slower than Ganna after 12km.   

Every GC rider is fighting for every second.  

Joao Almeida sets 28:29. 

That's a good ride and gives him 2nd so far. 

Roglic is chasing Vingegaard to the second time check. 

The Dane is only ninth and os slower than his GC rivals.  He's lost 30 seconds to Roglic!

Ayuso sets 28:50. 

That's a defensive GC effort but lets see how the GC looks very soon.  

Ayuso didn't come close to Ganna some 1:11 slower. The Spaniard was slower than his teammate Almeida.

Enric Mas sets 29:25. 

Sepp Kuss is 12th fastest at time check 1 but in touch with his GC rivals. 

At time check 2, Evenepoel is only 18 seconds slower than Ganna and he is faster than Roglic by 9 seconds. 

Vingegaard finishes off the pace , 1:17 down on Ganna. 

Roglic stops the clock in 28:15.  

He won't win the stage but defends his GC place well.  Over to you Remco!

Roglic was 35 seconds slower than Ganna.

Here comes Evenepoel. He won't beat Ganna but should be fastest of the GC riders.

Evenepoel blasts past Landa as if the Basque rider is stuck to the road.

Remco Evenepoel sets 27:55!

He is only 16 seconds slower than Ganna but he's a winner today too and will move up the GC.  

Evenepoel appears to gulp down a bottle of ketones as he focuses on his recovery immediately after his ride.  

Evenepoel beat Roglic by 19 seconds. That was worth his big effort. 

Marc Soler is fighting with Kuss for the leader's jersey but the American seems able to defend his lead in the TT. 

Soler sets 28:51. 

Sepp Kuss sets 29:08, that's enough to keep the red jersey for another day.  

Ganna gives a wave and a smile to celebrate his stage win. 

Kuss now leads Soler by 26 seconds in the GC. 

Evenepoel moves up to third overall at just 1:09, with Roglic at 1:36. 

Joao Almeida is sixth at 2:16, with Vingegaard down to seventh at 2:22. 

Ayuso is eighth at 2:25, with Mas at 2:50. 

That was Ganna's 27th career win. He was second to Evenepoel in the world TT championships but also impressed on the track where he won the world individual pursuit title and took silver in the team pursuit.

Well, that was an intense final hour, with the GC battle out on the road as the riders competed at two-minute intervals.  

This shot shows how aero Ganna is now and how that helped him win the Vuelta TT. 

Well, a new Vuelta starts on Wednesday with stage 11 from Lerma to La Laguna Negra.

The 163.5km stage ends with a 6.5km climb to the finish.

Evenepoel was happy with his performance but perhaps hoped to gain more time on Roglic.

“I think it’s pretty good. Knowing that I didn’t have the best TT legs today," the Belgian said after his ride. 

"I had a difficult moment after 10 minutes, so I think that’s the reason why I lost some time on Pippo [Ganna]. But I think if a guy deserves this stage win it’s him. So, I think overall we should be happy with the GC result but of course it’s a pity we didn’t take the stage today.

“But two times second and already a stage win in the pocket is pretty nice for the first 10 days of this Vuelta. We have to be happy with the GC gaps that I took today and coming quite closer to Sepp who actually did a super good TT. Big congrats to him as well." 

Evenepoel was trying to work out Jumbo-Visma's tactics and build his own race strategy. 

“I think they told Kuss to just go all out today to try and not lose too much time because I think they want to play the game with three leaders. I think he did a very good job and like I said, a big chapeau to him because I was pretty surprised when I saw this finish," Evenepoel said.

“It’s still a very long Vuelta and there are many more opportunities to come so we’ll try to go for it and keep on building. Thinking about how last weekend went and also today, I think I’ve been showing 3 days of good level, so we have to keep on building with that and try to hope to take some more time in some other stages.”

Filippo Ganna wants more than just a time trial win at the Vuelta.

“I’m really happy. After the Giro d’Italia, trying to win here is my goal, my dream. Today we did that. Now we think about how to end this Vuelta. We've got another two weeks on the front, so we'll try again in the road stages. I'd like that," he said.  

"The course was really nice and the weather was too, so I enjoyed it all." 

His win today was not revenge for the World TT Championships where Evenepoel beat him. 

“After the Worlds, I didn’t know if the team wanted me in the Vuelta or not, but I pushed a lot to be here with Geraint Thomas because we worked a lot at the Giro and also afterwards," he said, dodging the question. 

“To be here now is amazing. To be fighting for a good GC position is hard, but we’ll try to do a good job.”

Sepp Kuss is becoming popular in Spain as he defends the leader's jersey.

Here is Kuss on the podium for another day.

Here he is during the time trial.

This is superb shot of Evenepoel in time trial mode.

To see more of our photographers great images and read our full stage report, click below. 

Vuelta a España: Ganna back on top in TT, Evenepoel makes gains on GC rivals

We'll have more news, interviews and a preview of stage 11 and the second week of racing from Alasdair Fotheringham in Spain very soon.

Thanks for joining us for our full live coverage, we'll be back on Wednesday for full coverage of stage 11. 

Hasta la luego!