The Vuelta a Espana's Grand Depart weekend wrapped up in Monaco on Sunday, two days after the 81st edition of the Tour of Spain opened with a 9.4 kilometre individual time trial through the streets of the principality. The course started outside the Casino de Monte-Carlo and finished on Boulevard Albert Ier, the famous Formula One Grand Prix finish straight.
Reigning world champion and Monaco resident Tadej Pogacar made the strongest possible start, beating Britain's Ethan Hayter by nine hundredths of a second, with Joshua Tarling rounding out the podium four seconds back. Monegasque rider Victor Langellotti, the principality's only representative in the race, finished 29th on home roads.
On Sunday morning the peloton gathered at Place du Palais Princier for the ceremonial start of stage two, with Prince Albert II on hand to see the riders off before they headed toward Manosque in France for the longest stage of this year's race. The route hugged the Mediterranean coast through Nice before climbing into the Alpes-Maritimes through Chateauneuf-Grasse and Grasse, then into the Var, where crowds gathered along the roadside in villages including Ampus.
After more than 214 kilometres of racing, 21 year old Briton Matthew Brennan claimed his first Grand Tour stage win with an uphill sprint finish in Manosque, beating Spain's Pau Miquel, while Pogacar crossed the line third. The result was enough for Pogacar to hold onto the red leader's jersey, with Wout van Aert now second overall at nine seconds back and Brennan third at ten seconds.
The weekend also marked a milestone for Monaco: having previously hosted the Giro d'Italia's start in 1966 and the Tour de France's Grand Depart in 2009, the principality has now launched all three of cycling's Grand Tours. The peloton now continues its three week journey toward Spain.