It was another stage win for Alejandro Valverde in the Volta a Catalunya while Richie Porte took the overall victory. David Arroyo tried to catch the others by surprise from far away but the peloton’s control was too strong. Sergio Pardilla was in the main group that decided the stage victory and managed to finish 12th in the general classification. Lluis Mas won the special sprints jersey. In general, it was a good outcome for Caja Rural that has now been on the podium 12 times in 2015.

Sergio Pardilla, 12th in the general classification, commented on the Volta: “The last stage was a very tough day, like the six previous ones. The team did well once again, with David Arroyo present in the day’s escape and with Lluis Mas winning the Special Sprints. Personally, I leave satisfied, the result doesn’t change anything, I didn’t have the legs to do better, so I consider the result a fair one. Now it’s time to recover and focus on future races"

For his part, David Arroyo finished the stage “tired”. “I had a good feeling but in the end we weren’t able to finish the stage as we would have liked. It was a complicated day as the stage was so short and the general classification was so close, it was hard to win but we tried and we have to be happy with that. Personally, the outcome is one to be happy about, we have important races coming up and my legs are doing well. The team did well, with Lluis winning the Special Sprints and Sergio Pardilla doing well in the general classification. We leave on a positive note."

Lluis Mas, winner of the Special Sprints, said upon the race’s conclusion: “I felt worse in the previous stage, I almost gave up, but I woke up with a better feeling and, although I struggled at the beginning, I felt a little better in the peloton, especially with my teammates helping me. I made it to the third-last lap. Then I struggled, but thanks to the teammates that stayed with me, we made it to the finish line, thank God it was a short stage.

"I leave the Volta very happy, two days in the escape and one secondary classification jersey. This is always important in a World Tour race, both personally and for the team. We showed that we can compete with teams that have a much higher budget than us. It was a shame withtoday’s escape with Arroyo, it was a very good escape, we really thought he could make it. Now I have to rest for the next objective, the Vuelta a la Rioja, then get some more rest before the Tour of Turkey.”