Chris Froome off to positive start in the Vuelta a Espana as BMC win team time trial
Four-time Tour de France champion Froome is aiming to become the first rider in 39 years to win the Tour and the Vuelta in the same year
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chris Froome's bid to win the Vuelta a Espana for the first time got off to a strong start as the Briton's Team Sky came fourth in the team time trial in stage one on Saturday in Nimes, which was won by BMC Racing.
BMC's Rohan Dennis of Australia is the overall leader and will wear the red jersey in Sunday's flat 203.4 km stage, which also takes place in the southern French city before moving into Spain in stage four on Tuesday.
Four-time Tour de France champion Froome is aiming to become the first rider in 39 years to win the Tour and the Vuelta in the same year and made an early dent on his rivals in the general classification, leading Vincenzo Nibali by 22 seconds, Alberto Contador by 26 and Fabio Aru by 32.
Sky came across the finish line with five riders, nine seconds behind BMC Racing, who finished six ahead of second placed Quick-Step Floors and Team Sunweb in a messy time trial which saw frequent crashes as several riders struggled to negotiate the highly technical course.
The 13.7 km track, which went mostly through winding, narrow city centre streets and through a Roman amphitheatre, was almost half the length of the team time trial in last year's Vuelta, where Sky pipped Movistar to victory by under a second.
UAE Team Emirates, LottoNL-Jumbo and Movistar all experienced crashes, although all riders were able to continue.
Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments