0.09 seconds was all that separated reigning Tour de France champion Tadej Pogaar with British champion Ethan Hayter in the opening time-trial of the Vuelta a Espaa.On a 9.4km course that took in parts of the Monaco Formula One street circuit, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man laid down an early marker to his General Classification rivals. Pogaar was three seconds down on Soudal-QuickStep's Hayter at the intermediate check, but pegged back the 27-year-old to deny him a maiden Grand Tour stage win by the narrowest of margins, finishing with a time of 10:57. Joshua Tarling (Netcompany-Ineos), racing just over a week after the death of his brother, Finlay, finished in third place. A third British rider, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Callum Thornley, enjoyed a breakthrough performance in fourth place, just five seconds behind Pogaar. Pogaar is racing the Vuelta a Espaa for the first time since his Grand Tour debut in 2019, when he finished third. He is looking to complete his Grand Tour set, with the Spanish race being the only three-weeker he is yet to win.Pogaar's closest overall rival after the opener is his team-mate Joo Almeida, who sits in 18th, 18 seconds down. Netcompany-Ineos' Carlos Rodriguez is among the next contenders 27 seconds back, while Oscar Onley struggled 50 seconds in arrears. More to come...