"I would always prefer to win...": Primoz Roglic takes stock of a top-5 in the opening Itzulia time trial

The 2026 Itzulia Basque Country got underway this Monday with an opening time trial. On a 13.8-kilometer long course in Bilbao, the organizers had prepared anything but an easy test for riders starting with a 2.4-kilometer climb and finishing on a steep 10% ramp. Such parcours were immediately going to expose any favourites out of a shape. And, fortunately for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, both its leaders have passed the entrance exam to Basque Country, albeit not exactly with flying colours.

For this week's stage race, the German team relies on combination of youth (Florian Lipowitz) and experience (Primoz Roglic). The latter ultimately dealt with the effort 5 seconds faster than his teammate, finishing just one second shy of a podium. But what could be seen as worrying is Roglic's alarming gap to race leader Paul Seixas who will be managing a 28-second lead over the Slovenian over the next five stages.

"I did a nice time trial. Obviously, I would always prefer to win... but some guys were faster today," Roglic told Cycling Pro Net after his fourth place in the individual time trial.

That he lost quite a bit of time to Paul Seixas doesn't seem to be as much of a worry to the Slovenian who already looks ahead to the coming day: "I'm happy with my own performance and we'll see how it goes in next stages."

Podium finisher from last year's Tour de France, Florian Lipowitz may have already taken over the leadership reins from Primoz Roglic then, but Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe still continues to put faith in Roglic, especially for more explosive races such as the Itzulia Basque Country typically is. After all, the four-time Vuelta a Espana champion always seems to find a little extra in himself on Spanish roads it seems.

Albeit short timetrials and short, steep hills are not Lipowitz's favourite types of effort, the German rider has grown to such a level that he's no longer bleeding any unnecessary time to his rivals even in these scenarios. His performance on Monday was enough to put him in a 6th place on the day, 33 seconds behind Paul Seixas, but only ten seconds off runner-up Kévin Vauquelin.

"It was a pretty hard start to the race. I still feel the legs a bit from Catalunya, but I think we did a good performance. Primoz was also really strong, Lipowitz told Cycling Pro Net after the finish. "We have five really hard days in front of us, but I'm happy with with the performance today and we're looking forward to the rest of the race."

The 25-year-old German rider was not initially listed for this year's Itzulia, but was added at a last minute: "We decided super late," Lipowitz admitted. "Actually, I made the call after some guys fell sick after Catalunya. Then I said I wanted to keep the good shape by going there. The combination is always super hard, Catalunya and Basque, so we have to see how the next days are."

And so, Red Bull has two strong cards for the general classification battle. But which of the two star climbers will have an upper edge this week? "I think Primoz is also in really good shape. And maybe I can also help him to get on the podium or even win."

The last bit implies that Lipowitz comes into the race without personal ambitions, but is that so? "We have to see how the legs are, but I think it's always better to have two strong guys here," he assesses the options of his team.