There was plenty of drama at yesterday’s opening time trial of the Vuelta a Espana in Torrevieja, not least the crash that brought down four members of the Jumbo-Visma team including co-leaders Primoz Roglic and Steven Kruijswik.

But even before the 13.4-kilometre race against the clock there had already been what could have been a very serious incident indeed as the driver of a team car overshot a corner during a reconnaissance of the course.

The car in question belonged to the Euskadi Basque Country-Murias team and was following the UCI Professional Continental outfit’s riders as they took a look at the course.

They went through the corner smoothly – the driver behind less so, with a squeal of brakes as he tried to keep control of the vehicle, which then crashed into barriers and the wall of a building.

Local police were on hand immediately, but it doesn’t bear thinking about what might have happened had the car exited the circuit where they, and a number of spectators, were watching.

There was another incident involving a team car once the time trial proper got under way as Deceuninck-Quick Step riders were forced to swerve when they came round a corner and discovered the Lotto-Visma team car parked at the roadside as a mechanic gave assistance to a rider.

The Belgian team lost out on the stage win by just 2 seconds to Astana, and without that incident may well have have won the stage.