La Vuelta Ciclista a España 2024 Stage 1

August 17, 2024 Lisbon Portugal hosts the Gran Salida of the 2024 Vuelta Ciclista a España with a flat 12KM ITT along the Tagus Estuary. The wind was a factor, blowing from right to left and pushing the riders around. Edoardo Affini of Visma-Lease a Bike set the fastest time early on and held off Josh Tarling of Ineos by .3 seconds. Mathias Vacek of Lidl-Trek put in a stellar ride, putting 6 seconds into Affini but the stage was not decided yet. Brandon McNulty of UAE was the penultimate rider off the ramp and he crossed the line 2 seconds ahead of Vacek. Still on the course was Wout van Aert of Visma-Lease a Bike. At the intermediate time check, he was within 1 second of the fastest time but when he finished, he was 3 seconds behind McNulty. The win gives McNulty the first Red Jersey of the race and also the fastest ITT in Vuelta a España history, covering the 12KM course at an incredible speed of 57.197KM/Hour.