Vuelta a España / First rest day
Alejandro Valverde, Nairo Quintana, Eusebio Unzué speak to the media in Salamanca after splendid start to Spanish Grand Tour: two stage wins + 2nd, 3rd in provisional GC.
Alejandro Valverde
“I wasn’t really aware it was 12 years since I wore my first Vuelta leader’s jersey, if you ask me [Ed: smiles as journalist points out about it]. It did make me feel a bit angry, not being able to lead the race by just one second yesterday, but on the other hand, you soon realise that this takes pressure off your shoulders. Considering the winds expected for tomorrow’s stage and the terrain coming up in Galicia, it was going to be hard for the team, so it might be better for us. I’d of course liked to have worn it, but it is what it is. It was a very demanding stage yesterday, too, and especially a long one. Spending so much energy from our team-mates to contest the stage win wasn’t really necessary. There’s still two weeks remaining.”
“The race’s overview so far can’t be much better than this. It’s been a great first half to the race for us, for myself and also the entire team. Two stage wins, a third place last Friday, both of us in second and third overall, just 1” off the lead while Nairo sits at 14”… It’s a great race for us already. There’s the biggest mountains left in this Vuelta coming up this week. Nairo already showed to be in great condition yesterday, and I also did well. We must be happy with what we’ve got right now. The legs didn’t respond as we wanted them to in the Tour de France, but the whole team is doing great in this Vuelta. We only spent significant chunks of energy in the key stages, nothing at those which didn’t impact the current result, and that’s also important.”
“The upcoming days’ bonuses? It’s not a thing that worries me much. The Vuelta offers more considerable points to get that jersey – or, hopefully not, losing time. It’s not an obsession for us. Plus, this is not only about me getting the jersey – I’m in second place, but Nairo sits in third and has a strong chance, too. We must stay calm about this.”
“My goals for this Vuelta a España are more than fulfilled. Two stage wins, I’m second overall halfway through the race, I’m in great condition – of course I’m thinking about the World Championships, but we’re at the Vuelta right now. Seeing how things stand at the moment, we can’t miss this chance to get this race. I’ve got a chance, the team deserves that chance, Nairo also deserves to have me by his side if I lose time. We can still go great things here. The Worlds course obviously suits me well, but some extra wear here shouldn’t affect me in Austria.”
Nairo Quintana
“It was difficult to make a real attack yesterday. It was a windy climb, the strength of pretty much all contenders seemed to be quite balanced, the hot temperatures also made for an even harder day and made many people think twice before making a move.”
“I’m so happy about what all my team-maves have done for me and for Alejandro. We’ve shown to have excellent riders for all terrains. We proved to be able to work orderly in those opening, hilly stages. We got two wins for Alejandro, which was massive for us. It makes us calm and gave us a boost of confidence for what’s to come. In my own, specific case, having them by my side in those difficult moments, such as the one when I punctured – the team was always there. Also yesterday, with those narrow passages through the towns near the final climb, and at La Covatilla itself. I’ve always got some support from them. There’s a great atmosphere and excitement about what we’ve done so far and what’s to come – it should help us.”
“I feel like this is a great opportunity to win the Vuelta. Let’s hope we can work this way all the way to Madrid. Our main goal was the Tour, of course – when things don’t go well for you, even if you spent the whole year working hard to do well there, it seems like you didn’t do anything at all during the season. I’ve got great legs here and things are going our way so far. I think I’ve got a great chance.”
“The route itself will tell us where we can go more offensive. We’re halfway through the Vuelta, we’ve got a strong squad, everyone is racing hard here and doing a great job for the team. Things should be much clearer GC-wise when we get to the second rest day.”
“I’m calm at the moment, free of pressure, with much energy into the tank yet. It’s obvious that taking a stage win would even make me happier and boost my own morale, but it’s not an obsession. Let’s hope we have a chance in the upcoming stages – but the most important thing is keeping all team-mates healthy and strong through this second half of the Vuelta.”
“I think that the most important stage coming up should be the Lagos one, because of the route and the elevation gain. It might be the one with the biggest time gaps. Let’s see how our rivals do. Yates has proven to be a bit stronger than the rest so far, or at least, the most active of the contenders. His attack in Alfacar was convincing, and put a gap on the rest of us. He’s fresh after the Giro, he wants to really do well here and he’s got a strong squad with him. He sould be our strongest rival, or at least one of those we should keep under most vigilance. The Colombians are also in great condition, Lotto-Jumbo is doing great. Things won’t be easy with them and the fans won’t remain disappointed.”
“The World Championships? For the time being, there’s a long-list from Colombia, which I’m in, but I haven’t inspected the route on site yet. Colombia should be a team to watch, one which looks forward to make the race hard. The strongest from us should stand a good chance of doing well there.”
Eusebio Unzué
“We’re in this position, so close to the race lead, just because things went that way. We didn’t really measure our efforts to stay just 1” off the GC lead. Alejandro did the best he could yesterday, went one second short, and Nairo also tested his legs into those final accelerations through La Covatilla. It’s just about how equal everyone’s strengths are so far. We’ve covered like 45% of this Vuelta, and other Dan Martin and some other names, everyone who got to the start in Málaga with an aim to chase for a GC result is still there to win the Vuelta. At the Granada climb everyone was in there, and yesterday in La Covatilla, we got fifteen riders just 25” apart. It’s clear that no contenders have given up on their chances yet – other than Nibali, who was coming with an approach different, which everyone knew about.”
“The most demanding stages in this Vuelta should be the trio next weekend, through León and Asturias. We’ll get a clearer picture of who can win this race there. After that, we’ll face that long TT in Cantabria, where Kelderman should be the man to beat and the one who seeks to greatly improve his GC situation, after the terrain he lost with his puncture in Murcia. La Vuelta remains really tight, exciting for the fans, and the stages still to come should offer big spectacle. This first week has also been reasonable in terms of competition and outcomes: we got 2-3 good sprints and, as Alejandro has stated before, Spain’s orography allows for more breakaways to happen, and makes for a less blocked, more unpredictable race.”
“Mitchelton giving up on the jersey? I don’t think that will happen. The professionalism shown by all teams is beyond doubt in this race. Mitchelton didn’t work hard so far in the race, either – they should be fresh enough to keep it for some days, just like any other team. Groupama itself defended the jersey gracefully for the last four days, and the routes coming up in Zamora and Galicia are not that hard to keep it. However, everything’s possible in cycling.”
“I see it very difficult for Mikel Landa to race the World Championships. The areas affected in his injuries are ones which require a calm recovery, which takes time to get back to 100%. Mikel isn’t still able to put on intense efforts and long rides, which isn’t ideal for the Worlds, even more so in such a tough route as this year’s. However, other than racing the Worlds or not, he’s trying to get back to racing as soon as possible. Our ideal scenario would be to have him with the team at the Italian semiclassics ridden right after the Vuelta, and squeezing that calendar in October to have him finish on a high note. Shouldn’t he be able to race, it would be awful – 6-7 months without any racing would be too much for him.”
Imágenes (c): Photo Gomez Sport / Movistar Team