Mitchelton Scott had a mixed day at the Vuelta a Burgos as Esteban Chaves rode consistently on the stage-closing double climb, but Simon Yates and Jack Haig lost significant time in an unfortunate crash.

Chaves, who appeared to be right behind the lead group of Team Ineos as they crossed the summit finish of Alto del Castillo for the first time, never left the competition with the other riders around the finish circuit, eventually crossing the finish line in 11th place.

"Our goal here is to get back into competition, and this is a good way to start the account," team manager Matt White told Cycling News.

Regarding Chaves' GC options, he said it was a great start, but the race would be "a voyage in the dark, like it is for everyone."

"We've been away from racing for five months," he said.

"But at the same time we are here to race. If Esteban had a GC option, that would be a bonus, but his bigger goal is much further out.

As for the structure of the race, White feels that the third stage, with a summit finish on the Picon Blanco, will be the real decider.

"I think the first mountain will be harder than the second [Lagunas de Neira], so I expect bigger gaps than on the last day," White said.

Unfortunately for Mitchelton-Scott, the two top options for the mountain stages and GC, Simon Yates and Jack Haig, crashed (twice in Haig's case) and lost time. According to White, neither rider was seriously injured, but the loss of more than three minutes of time greatly reduced their chances of winning the overall in a race that they would normally have won by a much closer margin.

"There were a lot of small crashes and crosswinds. Some groups couldn't get back, and some groups that came back after crashes were involved in other crashes."

"There were a lot of crashes,"

"There was a lot of crosswinds.

"When Remco Evenpole (Quick-Step Deceuninck) attacked" - a brilliant solo ride in the last 30km - "there were already five groups at that point. There was so much going on in the last hour."