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Vuelta favorite Roglic
Photo: JAVIER LIZON / EPA-EFE / REX
Primož Roglič impressed the competition right at the start of the Vuelta Tour of Spain.
The top favorite from Slovenia has won all the time trials of the Vuelta since 2019 and was unbeatable even on the short route with start and finish at the impressive cathedral of the northern Spanish city of Burgos.
Maximilian Schachmann started the 76th Tour of Spain with a good individual time trial.
The German road cycling champion finished 25th, 22 seconds behind Roglič on the 7.1 kilometer circuit.
Schachmann does not have an eye on the overall ranking at the Vuelta.
Instead, he wants to win stages and go into the remaining races of the season with the World Cup in Flanders and the Tour of Lombardy in the best possible form.
There should be a sprint finish on the second stage on Sunday.
The 166.7 kilometers from Caleruega to Burgos do not present any difficulties.
However, a German sprinter with a chance of victory is not at the start in Spain.
The Vuelta ends on September 5th with an individual time trial in Santiago de Compostela.
In the overall standings, a duel between defending champion Roglič and Colombia's Giro winner Egan Bernal is expected on the tour, which has many top stars.
In addition, Bernal has the Olympic champion and third place in the tour, Richard Carapaz from Ecuador, on his team.
aha / dpa / sid