Tadej Pogacar leads the Vuelta for the first time by 9 thousandths of a second

MONTE CARLO – First stage, first victory for Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) at the Vuelta. The Slovenian champion, based in Monaco, used his knowledge of the terrain, explosive speed, and technical prowess to narrowly edge out Ethan Hayter (Soudal-Quick-Step) in the opening individual time trial of the 26th edition of the Vuelta a Monte Carlo. Both maintained an average speed of 51.5 km/h, covering the 9.4 km in 10:57, but Pogacar secured his 36th Grand Tour stage victory, his fourth at the Vuelta, by just 0.09 seconds! Pogacar crossed the line ahead of three British riders, with Josh Tarling (+4'') and Callum Thornley (+5'') close behind, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Primoz Roglic, winner of the inaugural Vuelta time trial in 2021. This is also the first time Pogacar has won La Roja as the leader of the general classification in the Spanish Grand Tour. For the seventh time in 81 editions, and the fourth in five years, the Vuelta starts outside Spain. After Lisbon (1997 and 2024), Assen (2009), Nîmes (2017), Utrecht (2022), and Piedmont (2025), it's now Monaco's turn, becoming the first city to host the start of three Grand Tours.