Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) won the first clash of the titans in the Volta a Catalunya. We have already posted several reactions and have gathered a few more below.
Jakob Fuglsang (Astana, 16th +0.27)
“I looked back and saw Rodriguez was leaving a gap. I thought – hey maybe this is a time to make a choice."
“In the end maybe it was the wrong choice, but at the time it looked logical and right – and maybe it would have been better if the climb went uphill all the way, instead of having a small downhill. That let the acceleration come from behind and pass me up."
Yvon Madiot (sports director FDJ.fr whose best rider was Thibaut Pinot in 15th)
" Yes, tonight we can say that Thibaut, who did three days with just one leg in Tirreno-Adriatico in March (he had a knee injury, ed.) after the Grand Prix La Marseillaise in February, had made a good comeback. Well, he is likely to be unhappy when I meet him at the hotel later but it's still not bad at all. A good basis to work for him. I want to believe that he is reassured before the second mountain stage on Thursday.
"Alexander Géniez isnot feeling well but our other climbers have done a good job. Arnold [Jeannesson] accompanied Thibaut until the last kilometre when the pace really accelerated. Jeremy [Roy] and Kenny [Elissonde] were there up to 2.5 km to go. In these races, there is no real battle, the favorites really wait until the last moment to attack. It is true that it is quite long but very rolling climbs. If I focus on my team, it was a good stage."
David Arroyo (Caja Rural, 12th +0.23)
"The sensations have been pretty good. The weather made us a bit afraid, but in the end was not so bad, although it was very cold and affected the muscles. We fought pretty good all day and will keep fighting every stage.
"Right now, the top 15 looks like one from a Tour stage and we know that the objective of winning is very difficult, but we want to finish in the top 10 overall. We are close and let's try.
"The team is good. There are still many days and we can't draw any conclusions. There are many kilometres left and the team will be giving its all as we always do."
Eugenio Goikoetxea (manager Caja Rural whose best riders was David Arrroyo in 12th)
"It looked like it would be a very complicated stage. There was some fear because of the weather but eventually the only problem was the cold.
" We could not make it into the break but we fought until the finish. David Arroyo finished 12th which is not bad in this field. Tomorrow we will try to get into the break and get something useful out of the Volta. We always have people at the top, and that's good. To win against these people is difficult. Our obligation is to keep trying, to see if we can surprise the WorldTour teams."
Branislau Samoilau (CCC Polsat, part of the early break, 89th +6.05)
"I wish I had succeeded in escaping to the end because I didn't miss much. Our gap at the bottom of the final climb was too small. If it had been four minutes, it would have been completely different. I worked hard in the break even though it was really cold and I was bothered by strong wind. I am a little tired but that's normal."
Piotr Wadecki (sports director CCC whose best rider was Davide Rebellin in 46th)
"As in yesterday's stage, our riders were asked to join the breaks. We expected that it would get away right from the start and it did. Samoilau was with five other riders. They didn't miss much to make it to the finish. The peloton caught them less than six kilometers from the finish.
"I am satisfied with the attitude of the riders in the third stage. Although I was hoping for a little bit more from our leader, Rebellin who could have finished in the top 10, but as we all know, Davide is not a climber on a long 15-20-kilometer mountain. He definitely feels better on shorter, steeper hills. He finishes a little further buch, but still I would like to stress that I am satisfied with the performance of the entire team."
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