19:56
Not long now until the favorite team
It won’t be long before the big favorite, Jumbo-Visma, will leave the ramp. Three teams start the race before that, before it is the Dutch team’s turn at 20:07.
19:53
Bora-Hansgrohe launched
The German team Bora-Hansgrohe starts the 14.8 kilometers. There are five German drivers in their ranks at the Tour of Spain. For its part, EF Education-EasyPost is on the last few meters, but in the end wafer-thinly fails to crack DSM.
19:50
Bahrain Victorious new second
Bahrain Victorious crosses the finish line. The team was nine seconds behind when the time was taken and was unable to close the gap. The team initially ranked second, ten seconds behind DSM.
19:49
Voltage curve rises
The tension curve is slowly rising and DSM is now receiving more pressure from its competitors. EF Education-EasyPost is three seconds behind on the split time. Now it will be exciting to see how they shape the second half.
19:48
The youngest team
Groupama – FDJ leaves the launch pad as the 14th team. The team is, on average, the youngest squad to start this year’s tour of Spain.
19:45
Bahrain Victorious close
In the meantime, a first major competitor from DSM is on the horizon. Bahrain Victorious comes through the first time just nine seconds back.
19:44
Intermarché slides into the top 3
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty crossed the finish line with a time of 18:03 minutes and took third place. Ten teams are still at the start.
19:43
Early fall
It doesn’t get any easier for the teams! Team Alpecin has to cope with a crash early on and two riders slip on the wet road.
19:41
Alpecin with two debutants
The Belgian team Alpecin – Deceuninck sets off at the start. Two German Grand Tour debutants will be there: Maurice Ballerstedt and Jason Osborne. The Austrian Tobias Bayer is also represented in the squad for the Vuelta.
19:39
Crash at Team Arkéa Samsic
The Arkéa Samsic team shows the difficult conditions. Frenchman Hugo Hofstetter slips in the last corner and takes two of his teammates with him! Luckily everyone can get back on the bike and you finish in sixth place.
19:35
Bahrain Victorious kicks off
Bahrain Victorious with the German driver Jasha Sütterlin has now also started the 14.8 kilometers. When it comes to timing, it is still DSM that sets the tone.
19:34
Five teams at the finish
Five of the 22 teams have arrived at the finish line. Finally, the Burgos-BH team crossed the line, but in the end they even had to find themselves behind Lidt-Trek.
19:30
Cofidis takes second place
The DSM team continues to lead the ranking at the finish. Cofidis has just come in, 22 seconds behind. With Lotto-Dstny, the ninth team has just walked over the launch pad. They start the race under difficult circumstances, because young newcomer Tijl De Decker died in a training accident just yesterday.
19:27
Lidl trek far back
Lidl-Trek has meanwhile also reached its destination. The caution on the track is reflected in the result and there is almost a minute missing in the direction of DSM.
19:21
Arkea Samsic starts the race
The French team Arkéa Samsic is the next team to start the race. At the first split, it is still the DSM team that tops the list of results. The second best team at this point is Cofidis.
19:19
Shaking heads at DSM
Team DSM also made it to the finish and you can see from the body language of the racers that they are happy to have made it through today’s stage. Conditions are really challenging today.
19:15
Caja Rural sets first benchmark time
Caja Rural has arrived at the finish line and sets the first target time of 18:12 minutes. But at the end of the day, that shouldn’t be enough to keep you in a good place.
19:13
Five teams on the track
Burgos-BH was the last team off the ramp and are tackling the difficult conditions. This means that five of the 22 teams have now left the track.
19:10
Lidl-Trek carefully on the way
With Team Lidl-Trek it is clear that the drivers are dealing with really difficult conditions today. Lopez keeps opening and you can tell the climber just wants to get through. Recently the rain has gotten heavier again.
19:08
Caja Rural taking the split time
The Caja Rural team is the first to pass through the intermediate timekeeping. They needed 12:12 minutes for this. At the start, the next team, Team Cofidis, took to the track.
19:07
18 curves line the route
The 18 corners are definitely a sticking point in these conditions. Here you have to be careful not to slip away.
19:06
Fifth driver’s time counts
The Vuelta is evaluated according to the well-known regulations and the time of the fifth driver of a team who crosses the finish line counts. One of the challenges today is the weather. The teams face mixed conditions with wet and dry roads.
19:04
Lidl Trek follows
Gradually, other teams join the route. As the next team, Lidl-Trek sends its drivers onto the course. Today they apply only to outsiders.
19:02
DSM Firmenich started
The Danish team DSM has meanwhile also started the race. They have veteran Romain Bardet in their ranks as well as some talented drivers like Oscar Onley, Max Poole and Lorenzo Milesi. The team has the second youngest average age. None of the team’s six German drivers will start at the Vuelta.
18:56
Let’s go!
It’s done and the Tour of Spain 2023 has officially started! The Caja Rural Seguros RGA team will be the first to take to the track. A total of 20 teams have been registered and will take to the track at four-minute intervals. At 8:11 p.m., the UAE team will conclude the event. The conditions for the start of the Vuelta are not easy and there can be showers again and again. When the first team starts, the umbrellas are open in Barcelona.
18:50
Which teams should you watch out for?
The Jumbo-Visma team was able to dominate the last team time trial and is once again one of the top favorites this year. With riders like Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard among their ranks, they have strong candidates for success. Team Soudal – Quick Step, led by newly crowned World Time Trial Champion Remco Evenepoel, also has good prospects of victory. Another team that will surely want to get involved in the fight for victory is Ineos Grenadiers.
18:44
Today’s stage
As in the previous year, the Vuelta a España will also start with a team time trial in 2023, making it the only one of the three major tours that has included this format in its race this year. In this collective battle against the clock, which will be fought over a distance of 14.8 kilometers, the route will take the teams from the starting point at the Sagrada Familia through the center of Barcelona. The route profile is mostly flat.
18:39
Who are the favorites of the Vuelta?
The favorites for overall victory are three outstanding stars of the cycling scene: Jonas Vingegaard, winner of the Tour de France, will start the race as part of the double leadership of Team Jumbo-Visma together with his teammate Primož Roglič, winner of the Giro d’Italia . Their main competitor is Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian driver is coming as the reigning champion. After he had to give up the lead at the Giro d’Italia early due to a corona infection, the focus is now clearly on Spain.
18:33
Tour of climbers
This year, too, the route is particularly suitable for mountain specialists, as it comprises a total of nine stages with mountain finishes. Particular highlights are the 13th stage, which ends at the Col du Tourmalet in France, and the 17th stage, which has its destination on the Alto de l’Angliru. It is rarely permanently flat at this Vuelta. The organizer itself only classifies stages 7, 12, 19 and 21 as flat stages.
18:27
Three weeks of bike racing
The “La Vuelta Ciclista a España”, also known as the “Vuelta” or “Vuelta a España”, represents the third major cycling stage race this year. It follows the Giro d’Italia in May and the Tour de France in July . The starting gun is fired today in Barcelona. After a total of 3,156.5 kilometers driven, the circuit finally ends on September 17 in Madrid. In total there are 21 stages on the program.
18:18
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the 78th Tour of Spain, which opens today with a team time trial. At 6:55 p.m., the first team sets off.