Dutch veteran climber Robert Goessink took the leader's jersey after winning the opening round of the 2022 Vuelta a España in his hometown of Utrecht on Friday evening.

"I'm still shaking as I sit here," Goessink told reporters about an hour after Jumbo-Visma struck a powerful blow in the opening round of the Vuelta, beating Ineos Grenadier by 13 seconds and pushing all but the British team and Quick-Step Alphavinir out of the lead after day one. hour later, he told reporters.

But even if Primoš Roglic, looking for his fourth overall Vuelta title, will undoubtedly benefit greatly in the long run from Jumbo's brilliant start, Geyssink finished first and took the lead in the red jersey.

Goessink, a teammate of Roglic's three Vuelta victories, had to endure great disappointment this summer when he was not selected for the Tour de France's Jumbo-Visma squad. But for Gesink, who has refocused on the Vuelta, the rewards of the Spanish Grand Tour, where he has worked behind the scenes with the team for years, literally could not have come any sooner.

"I'm really grateful for this opportunity to wear the red jersey in the country of my birth," Goethink said. I've given so much to this team."

"There was never any debate [about who would finish first]. Rather, the word was always this way, but only if we were sure that everything would be all right in the last 500 meters.

"It was a really tough team time trial.

With an estimated 250,000 fans filling the roadside, the majority of them cheering for Jumbo Visma, Goessink said he was able to turn their cheers into motivation to run as strong as possible.

"You could really feel the energy coming through the city center. It was really inspiring and I'm still shaking as I sit here.

Goessink admitted that it was not easy to accept not being selected for the Tour de France, but he was happy with the team's success in the summer and refocused on the Vuelta.

"I had to sort out for a while the fact that I wasn't selected for the Tour.

"Afterwards I had a talk with my girlfriend, and she reminded me that I had a great career ahead of me and I shouldn't let this get me down. So I went to the other side of the ocean and got away from everything Canadian for a while. Then I started working to get here, and here I am."

Another thing Gesink spoke of in the past was the huge crash that Jumbo Visma suffered in the last Vuelta a España opening TTT of 2019, when water leaked from a kiddie pool onto the road and nearly the entire team crashed out.

"I didn't think about it, but I'm glad you didn't tell me because if you had told me beforehand, maybe I would have," he told a reporter who asked.

"I stayed upright, but I can still see images of men lying all over the crashed roundabout.

"But team time trials are a big mental game. What we did was focus on what we could influence and stay positive. It worked and we're really happy to be here."

As Gesink reiterated, he was grateful for the team's decision to put him at the top and pleased that his plan to win the championship worked.

"It's about how much I contributed to the team and to the other players. I'm most happy that they show their appreciation to me," he said. 'Primosch gave me three red jerseys after the Vuelta.'