Lopez in Vuelta lead as Astana win opening team time trial and Jumbo-Visma crash

Miguel Angel Lopez is the first leader of the 2019 Vuelta a Espana after his Astana team won this evening’s opening time trial on a day when Jumbo-Visma, many people’s favourites to win the stage, crashed.

Primoz Roglic and Steven Kruijswik were two of the four Jumbo-Visma riders to hit the deck in the crash, apparently caused by a wet road surface on a tight corner

The pair crossed the line in Torreviejo alongside George Bennett, Robert Gesink and Tony Martin to finish 40 seconds down on the stage winners in 18th place.

Astana took victory by just 2 seconds from Deceuninck-Quick Step, who may well have won the stage had their riders not had to swerve to avoid the Jjumbo-Visma car as it attended to a rider, with Team Sunweb a further 3 seconds back in third place.

Team Ineos finished 11th, 25 seconds down on Astana following the 13.4-kilometre stage from the Salinas de Torrevieja saltworks.

There was a dramatic incident prior to the stage too when, during a recce of the circuit, the driver of the Euskadi Basque Country-Murias team car overshot a corner and crashed into the barriers and a wall.

Fortunately, it appears that no-one was seriously injured in the incident.