Having ridden a mostly anonymous race until now, Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r) goes into the first rest day at the Vuelta a Espana in 10th overall.

"The start of the Vuelta was very animated, nervous with finales that did not necessarily suit Domenico," sports director Julien Jurdie said. "We have almost avoided the crashes. We are on schedule with respect to the objective of a top five. Domenico is 10th at 1'52 ''.

"This Vuelta has started in the heat in Southern Spain and the team has been perfectly united around Domenico. From Wednesday, we will start another race, much harder (nearly 30,000 vertical meters in ten days). We have done some of the work but now it will be important to be ready in the first stage after the rest day where you can lose a lot of time."

"I'm satisfied with my first ten days at the Vuelta," Pozzovivo said. "The sensations are good and I am where I wanted to be. The team really did a great job and I thank everyone.

"Now I know that another race starts with long climbs that suit me better. Wednesday's stage to Andorra will be the hardest stage I have ever done in a grand tour."