British professional cyclist Ethan Hayter has won the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Labastida.
After more than four hours and 165.4 kilometers, the 24-year-old from the top team Ineos Grenadiers sprinted to the finish ahead of Swiss Mauro Schmid (Soudal-Quick Step) and local hero Jon Aberasturi (Trek Segafredo).
The favorites around the Danish tour winner Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and last year’s winner Daniel Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers) from Colombia were each able to secure bonus seconds in the last intermediate sprint and are therefore in the overall ranking behind the top trio from Monday.
The second and longest stage on Tuesday will cover 193.8 kilometers from Viana to Leiza. The tour ends on Saturday with the sixth stage, starting and finishing in Eibar.