The China Mail - Vingegaard reclaims lead as UAE win Vuelta time trial

As the 21-day race arrived in Spain after four days in Italy and France, the leaderboard was reshuffled with the three favourites top of the deck.

Team UAE won the 24.1km effort around Figueres in 25min and 26sec, with Vingegard's Visma just eight seconds off that pace and Giulio Ciccone's Lidl-Trek a further second off the pace in third on the day.

The result leaves the two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard top of the overall standings while UAE have Ayuso, Almeida and Marc Soler all at eight seconds behind with Italian climber Ciccone rounding out the top five.

Some 15 national time-trial champions sporting their county's colours on the course where the eight-rider teams needed to finish the race with four riders together, with pace men dropping off exhausted one by one.

Team Lotto were the first down the starters ramp under bright blue skies from right outside a giant pink castle decorated with croissants and boiled eggs designed by the surrealist artist Salvador Dali, who used to live in it.

The race now enters the Pyrenees with two tough mountain stages that will test the legs of those who rode too hard Wednesday.

W.Cheng--ThChM