First serious gaps in the general classification on the roads of Catalunya.
On the fifth day of La Vuelta, the race finally arrived in Spain for one of the most important stages of the opening week – the 24.1km team time trial. It was for the 15th time in the last 20 years that a TTT took place at the Spanish Grand Tour, which on Wednesday was present in Figueres, the birthplace of the famous Salvador Dali – one of 20th century’s most important artists and a leading exponent of Surrealism.
The seven T-Rex Quick-Step riders in the race – Gianmarco Garofoli, Mikel Landa, William Lecerf, Pepijn Reinderink, German ITT Champion Maximilian Schachmann, Mauri Vansevenant and Louis Vervaeke – put together a solid effort on the flat course around the Catalan city and stopped the clock at the end of this stage won by UAE Team Emirates in 26:14, having averaged 55.1km/h.
Following this TTT – which came so late into the race for the first time since the ‘70s – the best placed T-Rex Quick-Step rider in the general classification ahead of Friday’s challenging summit finish in Andorra is Czech Tour winner Junior Lecerf.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
