Watch La Vuelta a Espana 2023 live on SBS VICELAND, or head to the, which contains replays, highlights and more for you to catch up on all the action.
The 25.8km individual time trial around Valladolid looked to be the day where World time trial champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) would ride back into the red jersey with race leader Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) not at all suited to the discipline.
But the American proved the doubters wrong, producing one of the best rides of his career on the TT bike to retain his lead as Evenepoel was also strong to move into third overall.
Jumbo-Visma pre-race favourites Primoz Roglic moving up to third while Jonas Vingegaard failed to replicate his Tour de France time trial form to remain in seventh.
Here's how the best riders reacted to the day.
Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), 1st overall
“I have to believe in myself, I would love to keep the red jersey and even win the race and just trust my feelings and ride with my instincts. For me, the most important thing is we still have two really strong riders in Jonas [Vingegaard] and Primož."
"I don't feel any pressure on my shoulders. I just feel a lot of positivity from the team, that they’re happy to see me in this moment, and that’s the most important thing at this point.”
“I honestly didn't know what to expect. You can always look at the data, this and that and extrapolate certain numbers, and when I rode the course, I thought it was quite decent for me, I just needed to keep the rhythm. So I tried not to think too much about anything and just ride as smooth and comfortable as possible.”
“It was a tough day. I suffered a lot because usually when I do a time trial, I back off when I get too much pain, so it was a new experience. But it was really nice, I didn't feel so nervous, I just wanted to enjoy the day. No matter what happened, I knew it would be an unforgettable experience - being the last guy on the start ramp, wearing the red jersey and with all the guys cheering you on. That really gave me a lot of power today.”
“We've still got three very strong options, and I've shown I've got good legs. In my opinion, if you have good legs in the Pyrenees and on the Angliru, you can get a minute very quickly on the rest.
"We have to play our cards with the three of us because Soudal may be a bit weak in the mountains. If we can isolate Remco, we can do something with that. So much can happen in the mountains. In the first half of a Grand Tour, it's always a game of seconds. But then, in one stage [of the second part], you can blow up.
"I feel really good, Primoz and Jonas are looking good as well, giving me a lot of help and helping boost my morale. In the team, our mood is really good.
“I’m not a guy that needs to ask for so much, I just lay low and do my thing. For me, it works better that way. I just need to be more confident in myself and believe in myself more.”
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal QuickStep), 3rd overall +1:09
“I think it’s pretty good, knowing that I didn’t have the best TT legs today. I had a difficult moment after 10 minutes, so I think that’s the reason why I lost some time on Pippo [Ganna]. But I think if a guy deserves this stage win, it’s him. So, I think overall, we should be happy with the GC result, but of cource it’s a pity we didn’t take the stage today.
“But two times second and already a stage win in the pocket is pretty nice for the first ten days of this Vuelta. We have to be happy with the GC gaps that I took today and coming quite closer to Sepp, who actually did a super good TT. Big congrats to him as well.
“I think [Jumbo-Visma] told [Kuss] to just go all out today to try and not lose too much time because I think they want to play the game with three leaders. I think he did a very good job and, like I said, a big chapeau to him because I was pretty surprised when I saw this finish.
“But in the end, it’s still a very long Vuelta, and there are many more opportunities to come, so we’ll try to go for it and keep on building. Thinking about how last weekend went and also today, I think I’ve been showing three days of good level, so we have to keep on building with that and try to hope to take some more time in some other stages.”
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), 4th overall +1:36
"I am happy with this result, Evenepoel is the world time trial champion for a reason, so we knew he would be strong today.
"I could pedal hard all the time, and I felt great. It's also wonderful that Sepp managed to keep the red jersey. It's up to us to defend it in the coming days.”
Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), 6th overall +2:16
“I was good, I succeeded in doing a good effort, so I am happy and I could take time on the other contenders.
“Tomorrow we will face another hard day, not super tough but it will be necessary to be up there and be vigilant. We’ll focus the attention on the next stages until to the summit arrival on the Tourmalet, it will be important to save energy until that point”.
Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers), 21st overall +13:05
"You've just got to laugh really, haven't you? I thought I'd treat it like I was going full, you know? I attacked it at the start because even if I sit up halfway around, it'll still do me good for tomorrow because if I don't do much, then I block up, and I can feel terrible. A good hit-out was what I wanted anyway.
"I actually felt OK, I was still doing the numbers that were on the plan, but then the chain got stuck between the 11 and the frame. I had to change bikes, and then I was like, 'Ah, I'll just push a bit,' but I switched off a bit and then rode it in. I treated it as a nice little warmup for the rest of the week.
"I think as a team, we just have to start every day like it's a one-day really," he said. "I think we'll try and make the moves because you never know when a breakaway might go, but at the same time, it might be a GC day as well.
"I think we just need to race every day as best we can and keep believing in ourselves. It has been hard, to be honest, because a lot of things have gone wrong. But that's the way it goes sometimes. We've just got to keep our heads up and keep trying, and that's all we can do."
La Vuelta continues with a trip to the summit finish of La Laguna Negra, the mostly flat stage rearing up in the 6.5km at 6.7% finale to make the stage one for the climbers. Watch from 10.50pm AEST on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
