"I knew I could do a good time but not that good!" - Mathias Vacek powers into provisional lead of stage 1 at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana

It's fair to say that Mathias Vacek wasn't a name widely touted as a potential winner of the stage 1 time-trial at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, but with a few riders to go, the Czech national champion has set a truly blistering time.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Edoardo Affini has spent a very long time in the hotseat, even seeing off the challenge of European champion Joshua Tarling, but with his stunning effort, Vacek finally unseated the Visma man, taking the provisional stage lead by 5.75 seconds.

"I knew I could do a good time but not that good!" Vacek laughs honestly in his immediate interview afterwards. "But yeah, I really worked hard for this and it's really hard to ask for much better so I'm really happy with it. We'll just wait and see how it ends."

"I felt really good actually, but I just had in mind to go as fast as possible and to just go for the win. It looks good at the moment," Vacek continues. "For everybody the wind was the same so I thought it would be about pure power and I gave it all. There are still some strong riders to come, but I think I can last a long time at the top," he concludes.