On the opening day of the Iturria Basque, Lemco Evenepoel started April the same way they did in March.

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) defeated Evenepoel in Tirreno-Adriatico last month, but on Monday Evenepoel finished second to Primoš Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) in Ituria's 7.5km opener.

Once again, Evenepoel enters the race as one of the favorites to win the overall, but once again he will be up against Slovenia's biggest GC stars. On the first stage, which featured hills, technical descents, and a finish through the cobbled town of Hondarribia, Evenepoel was five seconds ahead of Roglic, but 13 seconds ahead of the other GC contenders.

"I don't think I could have done anything else," Evenepoel said after the finish. "The time trial was short, technical, and a bit risky, so I had to take risks if I wanted a good result. It took guts to take that risk."

"He has won the Vuelta three times. I think he is the best GC rider in the world, along with Tadeusz [Pogachar]. He's a great idol and I respect him, but that doesn't mean I'm a little disappointed that I finished second today," he added.

Evenepoel, who started 152nd out of 156 riders, passed the first checkpoint 11 seconds faster than Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) and his Quick-Step Alphavinir teammate and provisional leader Remi Cavagna.

Despite being only a few tenths of a second behind, he held an 11-second advantage going into the finish, with Roglic, the last man through the 3.15-km checkpoint, just 0.5 seconds behind, but he ran a good race downhill, small ramps, and into Hondarribia, trailing his rivals by 5 seconds.

"I went as fast as I could, but I think Primosch took the biggest advantage on the last cobblestone climb. I think Primozh took the advantage on the last cobblestone climb." What can I do?

"This is only the second time I've finished second in a time trial on the first day of a World Tour. I'm a little sad to be second again, but I think I'm in better shape than I was in Tirreno, so I'll fight every day to give my best."

Similar to the first day of Tirreno-Adriatico, where he finished 11th in the queen stage over Monte Carpegna, he said he is in better shape than he was last month.

"I'm in better shape than I was in Tirreno and I think I'm mentally stronger. It's going to be a big battle until Saturday, so hopefully I can fight with Primosch and the other guys every day."

"I want to take it one day at a time. Tomorrow I might not be in good shape and I might lose time. Let's talk on Saturday and see how it went."