McNulty wins first time trial at Vuelta

American Brandon McNulty won the exciting time trial on the opening stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Saturday by two seconds.

The flat 12km ride around Lisbon was won by UAE Team Emirates rider McNulty in 12 minutes 35 seconds, with Czech rider Mathias Vacek coming second with a time of 12:37.

The Italian early starter Edoardo Affino was in the lead for a long time, but ended up in fifth place, eight seconds behind.

Belgian Wout van Aert (Team Visma-Lease A Bike) seemed to be leading the timesheets, but had to settle for third place overall, three seconds behind McNulty.

Defending champion Sepp Kuss finished 53 seconds behind, losing time to other overall favorites, including three-time winner Primoz Roglic, who finished eighth – 17 seconds slower than McNulty.

McNulty will wear the red jersey on Sunday on the hilly second stage from Cascais to Ourem over 194 kilometers.

“I don't know if I expected to win. I knew if something crazy happened I could win, so I guess something crazy happened,” said McNulty, who could pose a threat to the overall standings.

“I hoped so, but I find it hard to believe. I had super strong legs and felt really good in training.”