Lidl-Trek power through the team time trial on stage 1(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jayco-AlUla set a quick time in the TTT(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Project Echelon Racing team during the TTT(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ineos Grenadiers in the TTT(Image credit: Getty Images)
Team Illes Balears Arabay did the TTT without any aerodynamic gear(Image credit: Getty Images)
UAE Team Emirates riders power through the TTT(Image credit: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Lidl-Trek powered to victory in the stage 1 team trial at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, setting the fastest time of 39:19 led home by Czech national time trial champion Mathias Vacek, who is the first race leader.
Vacek crossed the line alongside sprinter Jonathan Milan and two more national champions Daan Hoole and Jakob Söderqvist after their brutally strong squad of rouleurs stormed through the 34.3km course in Orihuela with an average speed of 53.3kph.
Jayco AlUla had set a best time of 40:06 and were the first team to finish with an average speed over 50kph, however, even they were 46 seconds down on the American squad. Their leader and new signing Ben O'Connor finished the day as the best-placed general classification rider.
Other teams racing for GC favourites such as UAE Team Emirates and Ineos Grenadiers finished the stage 50 and 51 seconds down on Lidl-Trek respectively but sit within striking distance of O'Connor with four days of racing to come.
"It's a really great feeling," said Vacek after moving into the race lead.
"In the finish, our gap was about 50 seconds and it's just crazy what we did today. We aim high but a win is of course something special for us and for the team. We are super confident now for the next stages but today we enjoy our victory."
While Vacek isn't a climber by any means, his versatility does make him an option for the GC. He was realistic with his ambitions with three climbing days approaching, however, didn't rule out trying to win the race overall.
"It was not really decided that I should pass the finish line first but I was in first position before the downhill and I stayed there until the finish and I'm proud that I can wear the yellow jersey now for the next stage," he said, revealing that he wasn't necessarily the leader.
"I don't want to say that I really am going to win the next stages but I will try to keep the jersey as long as possible. Of course, I have a good gap to the other guys but for sure it will be hard racing with some tough climbs so I'll see how I feel but I'll leave it all out there to keep the yellow jersey."
How it unfolded
Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi kicked off the action on stage 1 of the 76th Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, with a 34.3km team time trial heading towards the coast set to decide the opening day.
Starting in Orihuela, the race paid tribute to 1948 Vuelta a España champion and post-war pioneer Bernardo Ruiz at the start line, to celebrate 100 years since his birth in the Spanish city.
Making up more than 5% of the five-day race's total 665.8km distance, it would be a vital day for the general classification contenders, with only three days of hilly racing and a sprint stage to make up any deficit.
Alpecin-Deceuninck set the first benchmark or note at 41.26, knocking the Basque team out of the hot seats. The Belgian side's focus in Valencia will be on versatile sprinter Kaden Groves.
Not long after, however, Jayco AlUla came across the line with a time of 40:06, smashing Alpecin by 1:20 as the first team to average more than 50kph over the 34.3 kilometres. The Australian team crossed the line with GC leader O'Connor and three domestiques with him.
Behind them, Lidl-Trek were beginning to look like the favourites, setting a best time at the day's one intermediate time check with an average speed of 51.1.
With a strong team of rouleurs looking to help sprinter Milan in Valencia, Lidl-Trek only got faster as their effort went on. With four ITT national champions among their seven-man roster in Vacek, Hoole, Söderqvist and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, the American team scorched to the line in a time of 39:19.
As the only team to go under the 40-minute mark, Lidl-trek were unchallenged by the 15 teams who started after them, finishing the day with a 46-second lead over second place Jayco AlUla.
GC teams UAE Emirates-XRG and Ineos Grenadiers both crossed the line more than 50 seconds down on Lidl-Trek's rapid time. The Emirati team are led by João Almeida and defending champion Brandon McNulty in Valencia, while the British team are racing for Carlos Rodríguez and Thymen Arensman.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe were the last of the 22 teams to start on Wednesday and could have challenged Lidl-Trek with Aleksandr Vlasov and Jai Hindley on their seven-man roster for the week. However, they were well-matched with the other GC teams mentioned above, crossing the line one second faster than Ineos and less than a second slower than UAE.
James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.
