Jonas Vingegaard takes Tour de France yellow jersey for first time in three years as Visma-Lease a Bike win opening stage team time trial

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) picked up at the Tour de France in Barcelona where he left off at the Giro d'Italia in May in Rome - wearing the race leader’s jersey.

After being delivered by his team-mates to the foot of the short climb to Montjuic, the Danish rider lit up the thrusters and rocketed to the line, snatching first place from Filippo Ganna (Netcompany Ineos) by eight seconds.

Reigning champion Tadej Pogacar, whose UAE Team Emirates-XRG were the last team to start, put in an impressive performance of their own, but had to settle for third on the stage.

The opening stage team time trial was the first to be run in what has come to be called ‘Paris-Nice’ format - with the first rider from each team stopping the clock for the collective, but each rider given their own time towards the overall.

It made for some interesting tactics on a course with the climbing backloaded to the end of the 20km route. Most of the teams containing likely GC contenders looked to deliver their leader to the final slope to Montjuic in as fresh condition as possible. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was a rare exception, with world champion Remco Evenepoel putting in some strong turns early on.

Spanish side Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, returning to the Tour for the first time since 1987, were first off and set a respectable early time of 22’59".

The favourites were all among the later starters. Picnic PostNL, going for the reward of the green jersey for fastest first early split, put in a strong sector one before fading fast. Groupama-FDJ United, without an obvious leader, went well, claiming the hot seat with a 22'28'', and holding it before the team of stage favourites Ineos came through. All the same, it was not the ride the British team had planned, as their nominated GC man, Kevin Vauquelin, picked up a puncture and lost contact with his team.

Egan Bernal did not have the legs, which left Italian champion Filippo Ganna to continue on when he might have expected to sit up on the climb. The famous thoroughbred was able to keep the cylinders firing, however, almost single-handedly delivering his team to the hotseat by a massive 31-second margin. 

Had it not been for Visma, it would have held up, but the Dutch squad had designed a strategy to set Vingegaard up for the final climb. Their leader was fresh as a daisy when first Matteo Jorgenson, then Davide Piganzoli - who had been so valuable to him in the Giro - pulled aside, leaving him with less than 1000m of road to complete on his own. Vingegaard bumped Ineos out of the chairs by eight seconds, as they awaited the team of Pogacar - the only ones who could deny them the stage and the maillot jaune. 

Despite putting in a strong ride of their own, and riding the fastest final 4km of anyone, a slower early ride left the four-time champion with too much to do. He had to settle for third, and a loss of a respectable 12 seconds to his great rival.

Of the rest, Lidl-Trek and their leader Juan Ayuso finished a further four seconds down, with Evenepoel’s Red Bull another three slower. Decathlon-CMA CGM, the team of France’s great young hope, Paul Seixas, lost 39 seconds to Vingegaard on his first day at the Tour de France.

Starting down the coast in Taragonne, returning to pretty much the same finish as Saturday via a few lumps and bumps. It is a bit classics-y. Will Jonas want to keep the jersey or will he be happy to loan it out? Will he even have a choice in the matter?

"It's the perfect start. Still a long Tour, obviously, but it's the perfect start. My team-mates did an amazing job today. They were so strong. I didn't have to do much, to be honest, they drove me all the way to the finish. To take the stage win for us, and the yellow jersey also, for me personally, after a few hard years without it, it's nice for me to experience it again. It's the biggest race in the world. It's an amazing victory for us, especially when it's a team time trial.

"We're eight guys, which means I have seven team-mates who sacrifice themselves for me today. I'm the one wearing the yellow jersey after today, but they also won the stage and I have to thank them. Everything went as planned. We had this tactic and it paid off. I'm here to do the best possible GC but it's only Stage 1. There's a lot left, but I couldn't dream of a better start. I've had a few tough years, but coming back to the Tour, it's the biggest race, just to be wearer of the yellow jersey is something special, something I'll enjoy."

1. Jonas Vingegaard 21'47"
2. Filippo Ganna +8"
3. Tadej Pogacar +12"
4. Juan Ayuso + 16"
5. Remco Evenepoel + 19"
6. Isaac del Toro +26"
7. Davide Piganzoli +28"
8. Florian Lipowitz +35"
9. Tobias Foss +38"
10. Paul Seixas +39"

Pretty fascinating the way it has shaken out, with four teams having a second rider going long and late.

"We had a nice plan, with five riders pulling in the front, just me and Jonas trying to ride to the finish in the best time possible. We tried just to launch Jonas in the last part. Matteo [Jorgenson] did a super strong effort in the downhill, so we were super happy about that. I was quite fresh in the last part. On the wheel you save quite a lot so, on the last part, we just went full commitment. Super happy. To start here in Barcelona is something different from the Giro. It's nice to be able to be part of this team."

1. Visma-Lease a Bike 21'47''
2. Netcompany Ineos +08'
3. UAE Team Emirates-XRG +12'
4. Lidl-Trek +16'
5. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe +19
...

6. Decathlon CMA CGM Team +39'

So, no major disasters or time losses to report, with all the major players finishing close enough to each other. Paul Seixas lost the most time of the main five or six.

Pogacar and UAE cross the line in third, eleven seconds down on his great rival. Del Toro hung on and helped as long as he could, but it's first blood to the Dane.

By a mighty eight whole seconds. Piganzoli peeled off with 600m to go, and Vingegaard went like a rocket. Ganna's heart is broken, Ineos move aside. Only one team can deny them yellow now, I don't think he can do it.

Vingegaard, Piganzoli, Kuss and Jorgenson in formation with 3km left. Ganna might be worried by what he's seeing.

Ten seconds down. Still Ganna holds on in the hotseat.

He doesn't want to share the Red Bull team lead.

Two seconds quicker than Lidl-Trek, as Benoot and Yates fall away from the Pogacar train. Planned? Perhaps, or maybe they're just smashing it.

Mathias Vacek was Juan Ayuso's last man, and he gave a lot of welly to tee the Spaniard up for MontJuic. It was looking good but it wasn't enough, going red and staying there, as Ayuso stopped the clock 7 seconds down on Ineos. He's more than in the fight and can be very happy with that.

1. Net Company Ineos 21'55
2. Decathlon CMA CGM +31'
3. Alpecin Premier-Tech +31'
4. Groupama FDJ United +31'
5. Bahrain Victorious +39'

With four teams still to finish.

Third for now, after the second check.

The last team to set out on the Barcelona roads. The UAE bus has been the most popular tourist attraction in town today. UAE don't always set the world alight in TTTs, but let's see what they can do today.

Quickest, but by less than a second over Net Company Ineos, at the second intermediate split.

Not the yellow jersey but not bad, as he crosses the line to put Decathlon in second place, which would mean second place quite specifically for him, for now. He went just a fraction of a second quicker than Van der Poel. He dropped Riccitello on the climb, and should be pretty satisfied with that first test.

And the first of them is Visma-Lease a Bike, as Jonas Vingegaard looks to dethrone Tadej Pogacar, three years since his last Tour de France title. They've got pedigree in this discipline, that's for sure.