UAE Team Emirates snatch team time trial win as Vingegaard reclaims overall lead

UAE Team Emirates produced a storming ride to win stage 5’s team time trial at the Vuelta a España on Wednesday, while Jonas Vingegaard moved back into the overall lead.

UAE timed their effort to perfection. They passed the first intermediate check in second place and the next in third, before reclaiming time in the final 7.5km to seal victory. Vingegaard’s Visma | Lease a Bike squad had a disastrous start, but produced the perfect negative split to finish second, just eight seconds down on UAE’s winning mark of 25:26.

First off the ramp, Lotto set an early benchmark of 25:53, but were quickly surpassed by Lidl-Trek, who bettered their time at both intermediate checks and beat them by 12 seconds at the line. The American team held the lead for much of the stage despite multiple challengers, only to be dethroned when UAE crossed the finish. Lidl-Trek ultimately finished third on the day.

The 24.1km circuit around the Catalonian town of Figueres was almost completely flat, meaning the little wind there was had little or no effect as the race circled the town. However, part of the course were technical, with a number of tight bends coming inside the final 1,500m.

Vingegaard now leads overall by eight seconds ahead of the UAE Team Emirates triumvirate of Jaun Ayuso, João Ayuso and Marc Soler eased of a tough mountain top finish on Thursday.

While the discipline might be less popular than in earlier years, team time trials have been a regular feature at the Vuelta España, the race hosting one in 16 of the previous 25 editions. However, this year’s test is the first since 2023 when rain and a late start conspired and teams raced on wet roads, with the final squads starting their efforts in the dark.

Organisers will have breathed a sigh of relief when morning rain in Figueres stopped and the sun came out for this year’s pan flat 24.1km test. While some races have tried different rules for the TTT, Vuelta organisers stuck with the tried and tested formula where the fourth rider set the team’s time and any riders dropped by their teams would stop the clock when they each crossed the line.

Teams started four minutes apart, with the Groupama-FDJ team of overall leader, David Gaudu last down the ramp and Lotto starting first. At the first intermediate timing point after 7.8km, the Belgian squad set a time of 8:23, and 17.43 at the second check. As the race progressed they began to drop riders, the four remaining men stopping the clock in 25:53.

Behind them, Lidl-Trek eclipsed their time at the first check, taking 17 seconds off the Belgian team, though that was down to only 12 seconds at the second check and their ride was in the balance. That was exacerbated when Carlos Verona overcooked a bend and crashed, but the team crossed the line 18 seconds faster than Lotto, setting a time of 25:35.

With a number of world class time trialists in their roster Ineos Grenadiers time of 7:56 at the first time check was the fastest of the day, they had slipped to one second behind Lidl-Trek’s time and were even further back when they finished fifth. 

Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe were expected to go very well and had set the fifth fastest time at the second intermediate time check, but a touch of wheels in the pace line caused Matteo Sobrero to crash, the team’s rhythm disrupted. However, the German squad produced a brilliant ride, stopping the clock only three seconds slower than Lidl-Trek and were eventually fourth.