65th Vuelta a España - Stage 1 Reactions
The teams weigh in on the first "Vuelta Nocturne" 'The
circuit was well lit and there were many people, so it was a beautiful
experience to be remembered for years. '
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HTC-CColumbia
Opens Vuelta with Victory & 1rst Red Jersey
HTC-Columbia has emerged victorious in the opening team time trial of the Vuelta
a Espana, a 13 kilometre late night race against the clock through the streets
of Seville. Mark Cavendish was the first HTC-Columbia rider across the line,
making him the race's first leader and the first to wear the new red jersey of
the Spanish Grand Tour.
HTC-Columbia was ten seconds faster than second placed Liquigas-Doimo on the
completely flat course held through the centre of Seville, with Saxo Bank in
third.
Mark Cavendish...
"As soon as we did the first training ride on the course on Thursday even after
ten minutes on the bike we were riding so well together I had the feeling we
were going to win. The team time trial is my favourite discipline because the
whole team gets rewarded, it's special that way, and at the same time you need
to get it one hundred percent right for it to work."
"I get to stand on the podium quite a lot, but that's because of eight other
guys hard work. Today we all got to stand on the podium and I'm incredibly proud
of what my team-mates did."
Cavendish said that although he got to wear the Tour of Spain leader's red
jersey, "it belonged to the whole squad. I'm wearing it on behalf of the team."
Cavendish is also the leader of the points competition, whilst HTC-Columbia
are the leaders of the teams classification.
55th Victory
Saturday's victory is the 55th of the 2010 season for HTC-Columbia men's team.
Team Saxo Bank
Third in Team Time Trial
Team Saxo Bank's finished third, only 12 seconds behind the winning team,
HTC-Columbia. Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) will be wearing the leader's jersey
tomorrow.
D.S. Bradley McGee after the stage.
“I'm quite happy about the result and about putting Fränk in a good position in
the overall rankings. Most importantly, I made sure not to put any pressure on
the shoulders of the riders in order to get through the course without any
accidents. There's no doubt, Fränk is very motivated and we're all looking
forward to take on the race.”
”We've been waiting all day to do the team time trial and we're happy about
the result. It might be the most demanding discipline in the sport and on the
flat and straight stretches, we couldn't have put in a stronger effort. The most
important thing for us was to get through the tricky turns and to cross the
finish line safely,” said Team Saxo Bank Dane, Anders
Lund after the stage.
Lampre/Farnese Vini
Excellent performance for the blue-fucsia team...
The adventure of Lampre-Farnese Vini in Vuelta a Espana 2010 began with a 5th
place in the team time trial in Sevilla.
At the end of the 13 km of the stage, that took place during the night, the team
directed by the duo Piovani-Vicino recorded the time of 14'20", 14 seconds off
the pace by HTC-Columbia, the winning team.
"We knew we could compete for a good result, but we didn't think we would be
in the top five positions: I think that the performance is very good for our
qualities," commented Directeur Sportif, Piovani,
and then added... " The experience of the first stage taking place in
the night has been charming; it was an amazing cycling party."
Cervélo TestTeam
Off to a Great Start in 4th
Cervélo stopped the clock in 14 minutes, 19 seconds, just 13 seconds slower than
winners HTC-Columbia. British sprinter ace Mark Cavendish took the first race
leader’s jersey while Cervélo positioned team captain Carlos Sastre (ESP) in
good position to start the three-week Spanish tour.
Cervélo TestTeam sport director Philippe Mauduit
“It was an amazing performance by the team. Everyone knows the start of a grand
tour is very important, even more so with a team time trial. All the team was
very focused and even though they were not used to racing by night, they just
did a great performance. We expected to be between sixth and eight, with sixth
being a very good performance. To be fourth, just 13 seconds behind the winner,
that is a great performance. Everyone was working well in the rotations and Thor
(Hushovd) did some great pulls for the team.”
Carlos Sastre said the good result to
open the 2010 Vuelta will only fuel his confidence as he begins his third
three-week grand tour of the season.
“The team did very well. Everyone was motivated and focused and excited to be
racing,” Sastre said. “I’m here to do as well as I can in this Vuelta. I’m
feeling good, the team is strong and motivated, so we’ll see what happens in
these next few weeks. I’m racing here in Spain, in front of my fans, so I am
extra motivated as well. This Vuelta is not easy. Every day there is some little
surprise for the racers.”
Thor Hushovd pleased with how the team rode...
“I was surprised at how good I felt because I haven’t raced since the Tour de
France. The team was very strong today and we were all working well together.
It’s not every day that we get to race at night, so that made for an interesting
race. We hope this is a good sign for the rest of the Vuelta for the team.”
Hushovd will get his first shot at a stage victory in Sunday’s 173.7km second
stage from Alcalá de Guadaíra to Marbella. The route climbs nearly 1,000
vertical meters before dropping down to the Mediterranean Sea for what should be
a sprint finish into the posh coastal resort at Marbella.
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
The Turquoise finished in 39 seconds off the winners
"We did not expect such an exploit." Ismael Mottier is clear after the team time
trial this Saturday night, This was not a goal for the team Bbox Bouygues
Telecom. "No miracle", said the sporting director, who believes however that
"the riders rode well; and are not too too far back." For Turquoise, the key was
first and foremost to the finish without a problem on a course made difficult by
poor visibility.
On Sunday, the team will have a terrain more to their liking. On the road
that leads the peloton into Marbella, Bbox will have the opportunity to show the
jersey and start their Vuelta under the best auspices. The desire for Ismael
Mottier is to actually "win stages, as it was in the Giro and the Tour" and this
quest really begins Sunday on a leg-breaking course through Andalusia. And in
hot weather! This Saturday, it was over 40 degrees on Seville.
This second stage, Ismaël Mottier does not see it necessarily ending in a
sprint: "In principle, it should happen this way, but you never know. It's a
difficult 30-40 kilometers from the finish. " William Bonnet is our
protected rider. Last year, he finished second in the 16th and 17th stage of
Tour of Spain. First, stumbling on Andre Greipel in Puertollano, then just
missing in the bunch sprint behind Anthony Roux in Talavera de la Reina.
Euskaltel/Euskadi
Orange Warriors Only 27 Seconds Back for 13th
The U.S. team set a record of 14:06, ten seconds better than runner-up,
Liquigas. Euskaltel Euskadi had a good stage and stayed at 27 seconds behind the
winner in 13th place. To Gorka Gerrikagoitia,
manager of Euskaltel Euskadi, "the result is well received and the time given is
not excessive. Yes it is true that we have given more than I thought, we may
have been a little below what I expected, but I do not give greater significance
to it. We had some mismatches and we have solved them thanks to the excellent
attitude given by all team members. I stand by that, they have given everything
they had. "
On the lap nocturnal, Gernika coach noted that "The experience has been
spectacular. I remember one individual time trial at night, a mile at the Giro
d'Italia, but this was different, much longer ... The time trial circuit was
well lit and there were many people, so it was a beautiful experience to be
remembered for years. "
Xacobeo Galicia
A Good Time Trial
The best time among the twenty two teams participating was established by Team
Columbia, which covered the 13 km at 14:06. Based on this, the direct manager of
sports Xacobeo Galicia made a brief and yet accurate summary of what was the
opening day for his team: "We had a good time trial. We were not Super, but we
had a good performance."
The team came out tight and was much applauded by the audience in Seville.
Gustavo C. Veloso fought to find his course in the first thousand feet, trying
to maintain maximum uniformity with the team, to overcome by the most technical
part of the route. The team was one of the most complete arriving with eight
riders in the same time. Gustavo Rodriguez gave up just 5 seconds, and yet
showed great merit of his performance levels, because he showed so much power in
his fight almost alone. The problem was more technical in time to maneuver on
the corners.
Footon/Servetto-Fuji
Team
Hard Day for the Gold Team
The Footon Severtto Fuji team had the honor to opening the first stage of the
Vuelta. The team had a hard day as the riders led by Matxin and Angoitia
experienced some dangerous moments, with the near crash by Enrique Mata, who
slipped on one of the curves, and also some difficulties in the first tricky
part of the race. The Gold Generation went over the line with seven out of their
nine riders -only Cardoso and Vitoria were dropped in the finale- to make the
22nd best time of the day, 57 seconds off HTC's pace before the first real stage
for the UCI ProTour's youngest squad, to be raced tomorrow at noon over 174 km
from Alcalá de Guadaira to Marbella, where a sprint contest is expected.
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