UAE Team Emirates makes Vuelta a Espana debut

UAE Team Emirates has made its debut at the final Grand Tour of the UCI World Tour season, the Vuelta a España. Disappointingly, a crash in today’s Team Time Trial saw Darwin Atapuma and Federico Zurlo both come off their bikes, losing crucial seconds. BMC Racing completed Stage One with the quickest time of the afternoon, with rider Rohan Dennis picking up the red jersey.

Commenting on UAE Team Emirates’ finish, Darwin Atapuma said: “We have started this Vuelta with bad luck, but we have to look ahead. The course was very technical and it was easy to make an error.”

We are treated to another all French affair on Stage Two, which sees riders depart the City of Nîmes for Gruissan. A flat, 203.4km route that runs adjacent to the Mediterranean coastline, the race is expected to be a hard fought one between the sprint specialists. However, given its proximity to the coast, the sea wind could play a crucial part in the outcome of today’s stage.

Stage One Results

1 BMC Racing Team 0:15:58

2 Quick-Step Floors +6’’

3 Team Sunweb +6’’

19 UAE Team Emirates +47’’

General classification

1Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing)