Brandon McNulty wins La Vuelta stage, solid start for Darren Rafferty

American Brandon McNulty won a thrilling opening stage time trial at the Vuelta a Espana by two seconds on Saturday, with Co Tyrone man Darren Rafferty crossing the line in 37th on his Grand Tour debut.

The flat 12km blast around Lisbon was won by UAE Team Emirates rider McNulty in 12 minutes 35 seconds with Czech Mathias Vacek second in 12:37.

Italian early starter Edoardo Affino had led for a long time but ended up fifth, eight seconds down.

Belgium's Wout van Aert (Team Visma-Lease A Bike) looked like topping the time sheets but had to settle for third in the standings, three seconds behind McNulty.

Defending champion Sepp Kuss finished 53 seconds behind, losing time to other general classification favourites including three-times winner Primoz Roglic who was eighth -- 17 seconds slower than McNulty.

McNulty will get to wear the red jersey in Sunday's hilly 194km second stage from Cascais to Ourem.

For 21-year-old Rafferty, it was a solid first outing. He crossed the line in 13 minutes 15 seconds, 40 seconds down on winner McNulty. Corkman Eddie Dunbar was just ahead of him in 33rd for Jayco AlUla having clocked 13 minutes 14 seconds.