"I had really sh*t legs! It was one of the longest kilometres of my life" - Tibor del Grosso denied first pro win in thrilling opening stage at Volta a Catalunya 2025

Tibor del Grosso came so close to the win on stage 1 of the 2025 Volta a Catalunya on Monday afternoon. Despite entering the final kilometre solo however, the Alpecin-Deceuninck star was reeled in right at the line by Team Visma | Lease a Bike's 19-year-old super-talent, Matthew Brennan.

After attacking on the final descent towards the line, Del Grosso seemed to have the win all sewn up as he passed the Flamme Rouge with clear daylight between himself and the chasing Brennan. As the 21-year-old Dutchman began to tie up though, Brennan continued to put the power down, resulting in an incredibly dramatic finale that saw both Del Grosso and teammate Kaden Groves denied by the British teenager.

"It was really close and that makes it quite bitter," admits Del Grosso in his post-stage interview with Eurosport from right after the line. "But it also wasn't really the plan and I didn't really feel that good at all. I didn't feel like I was going that fast downhill, but then the boys shouted to me that I needed to go. I tried, but yeah..." he smiles.

"I think I had quite a big gap going into the last kilometre, but I had really shit legs! It was one of the longest kilometres of my life," Del Grosso concludes with a laugh. "I just couldn't go any faster. Maybe I should have gone full gas on the descent a little earlier and yeah, maybe I could have had those two seconds more at the bottom."