The shortened version of the Vuelta a España began with a challenging stage in the rain-soaked, green hills of Guipuzcoa.

The men in yellow took control of the peloton early on after starting in the town of Irun, near the French border, and again led the pack on the final climb of the Alto de Arate, which last appeared in the 2012 race.

Back then, on the third day of racing in Madrid, the final top four riders proved themselves to be exceptional. Alejandro Valverde won the race ahead of Joaquin Rodriguez, Chris Froome, and eventual winner Alberto Contador.

Eight years later, at the same finish in Eibar (a slight downhill just over 2 km from the summit), reigning champion Primoš Roglic took the race's first red jersey.

"It's nice to win," Roglic said after the finish, his eighth win of 2020 after Liege-Bastogne-Liege two weeks ago. He added: "I'm very happy, really happy."

Roglic and Jumbo Visma fended off a strong challenge from another super team, Ineos Grenadier, who dominated the peloton on the Eibar and Ego valley climbs.

Richard Calapas, not Ineos co-leader Chris Froome, emerged as Logrich's best challenger, finishing in second place. Superdomestic's Zep Kus was eighth, George Bennett ninth, and the pair of Roberto Gesink and Tom Dumoulin joined the chasing pack 51 seconds behind.

"The team once again had a really strong run. 'They worked perfectly all day. Great start

"On the last climb the gas pedal was at full throttle and everyone was suffering. There was this crazy guy named Sepp and he was flying. It's a very special Vuelta for me, so I tried to keep everyone in it somehow. I don't know what will happen or how long it will last. I just have to focus one day at a time and try to win as much as possible."

While praising his team for winning the red and green jerseys as well as the cus polka-dot jersey and team class, Roglic also nodded to Ineos' strength. The 30-year-old, as ever, was modest in his post-race prognostications, preaching a cautious day-to-day outlook.

"They did a super strong job," he said. But like I said, we'll see what happens, three weeks is quite a long time, but first we'll celebrate this victory and tomorrow is another day."

"It's been a very strange season. A lot of racing and stress and everything. I just want to enjoy it here. It's great to still be able to race in these times and it's been fun to watch.

Along with Roglic, the star of the Alate was Kuss, a 26-year-old American in only his third year at the World Tour level. He launched his attack on the climb 4.7km from the finish, blowing away Ineos' plan to control things with Sosa and Calapaz.

What emerged from his sharp acceleration was a group fighting for the finish, and Coloradan quickly drove Alejandro Valverde and Gorka Izaguirre into the chase group.

"We knew the climb would be really hard and we knew the Vuelta is a race where you can attack a lot and it can be explosive. We knew that if Primozh attacked at the front, we would have a good chance."

"I tried to push hard in the pack and keep a steady pace at the front. He was able to get a really good gap and make it to the finish.

Kuss replaced Roglic at the 4km mark and took the race by the scruff of the neck.

He is clearly enjoying the Vuelta, which he won for the first time last season on the World Tour in Santuario del Acebo.

"Winning the Vuelta last year was a big leap for me. This is my favorite race of the year and I was very eager to come here and get a good result. I'm really happy to win with Primoz and I love working with him."

"I was asked early on about the possibility of KOM. 'Right now I'm wearing the red jersey with Primosch, so that's my priority. I don't think I even realized today that I was in first place going through the KOM.

Starting with tomorrow's downhill finish in Recumbelli, followed by Thursday's summit finish in La Laguna Negra de Vinuesa and then the Col du Tourmalet on stage 6, the challenges will mount for Jumbo-Visma, including Roglic and Cus. After a dominant first stage, they appear to be well-prepared.