Schachmann and Skjelmose, after his serious crash in Paris-Nice, in good shape for the Ardennes, Campenaerts disappointed: "Team goal needs to come first"

For the first time in almost two years, Maximilian Schachmann was able to win again. The German from Soudal Quick-Step beat Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Joao Almeida (UAE Emirates-XRG) in the 16-kilometer opening time trial of the Tour of the Basque Country and was delighted with the result.

In the flash interview, Schachmann, who will compete against Remco Evenepoel in the Ardennes, shared his story. "I am overwhelmed! It feels great to win another WorldTour race, especially because it is a time trial. It was a tough course at high speed, where you could do little to no recovery."

"It was a short but spicy start to this race," Schachmann said. "I gave it my all and am incredibly happy with this success, which is already my fourth in the Basque Country." The German expressed his thanks to his new employer, Soudal Quick-Step. "From the moment I returned to the team, I received a warm welcome. I was also given a lot of confidence, which was very important. It feels great to win this race and have three riders in the top ten. A fantastic start," with Ethan Hayter and Ilan Van Wilder also finishing strongly.

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Almeida happy with result: "Went even faster than planned"

Joao Almeida finished in the same time as Schachmann. "I am pleased with this result and think I did very well. By the time I crossed the finish line, I had nothing left in my legs. That's good, but it's a bummer that I was so close to first place."

The Portuguese explain, "I even went faster in the beginning than originally planned. With such a short trial, you can't save energy because it's so short. I think I did well, and this is a good indicator. The other men also looked strong so that it will be a tough week. But things are looking good."

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Campenaerts in top ten on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike

On behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike, Victor Campenaerts finished in seventh place. "Looking back, I think my start was a bit too optimistic," Campenaerts reflects honestly on his time trial. "It was a course with some tricky sections. Of course a fast start is necessary here to get a good result, but because of that I lost some power in the second part and could not accelerate as much I wanted. It was not my best time trial of my career, but certainly not the worst either," said the Belgian.

Visma | Lease a Bike has several ambitions for the coming days, Campenaerts explained. "Tomorrow seems to be a good chance for Axel Zingle. In addition, Ben Tulett is in good shape with the victory of the Coppi e Bartali two weeks ago and Sepp Kuss is always strong in the mountains. I would have liked to win the opening time trial here, but let's first state that the goals of the team are the most important from now on. We hope to be able to compete for the stage victories in the coming days."

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Skjelmose finishes in eight spot upon his return

Thibau Nys and Mattias Skjelmose are the men to watch on behalf of Lidl-Trek. The Dane returned to competition after his serious crash in Paris-Nice. "I feel fortunate to be here. When I was lying on the ground, I thought something in my leg or hip was broken. So I feel lucky to be here in the Basque Country."

"I've had some problems with my knee, but I'm here, and I came to ride," he says. "I'm not 100 percent sure, and I rode a good time trial after some setbacks, but the Ardennes are the big goal. So I shouldn't be 100 percent here either. I wore myself completely out in this time trial. Halfway through, I realized I couldn't maintain my pace."

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