With a team made up of climbers, Katusha and Joaquim Rodriguez went into the opening team time trial with the goal of limiting their losses. Having finished 16th in the stage, the Russian team was moderately satisfied with the outcome.
The final grand tour of the 2014 season took place in the southwestern part of Spain as the 69th Vuelta a España opened on Saturday with a 12,6 km team time trial. Although the course was flat in the city streets of Jerez de la Frontera, the nineteen roundabouts made for a technical opening stage 1.
"We knew it was not a stage for us because our roster consists of climbers. We didn’t expect too much today as our purpose for today was to minimize our losses. I think more or less we did this. With the exception of Movistar all teams are close to one another and the gaps are minimal - around of 15 - 20 seconds. We are not far from the others and this is the main objective of the stage. The race has just begun and all things are still ahead," said team director José Azevedo. Katusha was off the pace at 38-seconds.
Stage 2 on Sunday departs from Algeciras and ends in San Fernando after 174,4 km. It’s a flat stage and should be one for the sprinters.
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