Evenepoel will be pleased: Schachmann, co-leader for the Ardennes classics, shows top form with time trial win in Basque Country

The opening time trial in the Basque Country has become a tradition. Last year, the race also began with a time trial, which Primoz Roglic won. This year, the Slovenian is not competing, but the course is also much easier. The starting location was very special: the riders set off from a basketball stadium for the 16.5-kilometer trial, mainly on flat roads.

The weather was beautiful in Vitoria-Gasteiz, where Ethan Hayter was the first to set a target time. The Brit from Soudal Quick-Step has been searching for his top form for a while but rode an excellent time trial. Victor Campenaerts, one of the big favorites for the win, struggled with his opponent's time. In the end, Hayter was beaten by a teammate: Schachmann was faster on the road and finished six seconds under Hayter's time.

The German set a very fast time, as many time trialists struggled to match his performance. Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) and Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) rode an excellent time trial but were stuck at just over 10 seconds. Other GC riders did less well: Enric Mas had to make up more than a minute on those two. Florian Lipowitz also finished well behind the Spaniard: the young German was even less than a second behind his compatriot and moved into a provisional second place.

With Vlasov and Lipowitz, Red Bull had two men in the top spot, and it could have been three had Maxim Van Gils not made a big mistake in the final kilometer. He made a mistake in estimating the last corner and flew straight into the deviation lane for the motorcycles. It was never a real top time, but he still lost much time with it. Another top contender who came close was João Almeida. The Portuguese cyclist rode a fantastic time trial but was only half a second short of taking the lead. Three names within a second, it's unbelievable!

Thibau Nys won the Indurain GP on Saturday but was not really in the running in this time trial. This is nothing to be ashamed of because his team also had one of the favorites for the day with Mattias Skjelmose. He was in the final block of riders with Daniel Felipe Martinez (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates-XRG).

At the first intermediate point, the three did not immediately register the best times, which made Schachmann smile a little more on the hot seat: he knew he would win in this opening time trial. And that means that Soudal Quick-Step has done a good job preparing for the Ardennes, where Schachmann is one of the expected key riders, along with Remco Evenepoel, who is currently on a training camp at altitude.