Caja Rural-Seguros RGA delivered a good performance in the first stage of the Route du Sud. David Arroyo finished 13th and neo-pro Hector Saez was one of the protagonists in the early break

"I felt good so I decided to go on the attack despite the long distance," Saez said. "We knew it was complicated, but we had to try. If you don't hope, there is no reason to try. We did not get more than 3 minutes at any point. Although it was difficult to keep the pace in the final stretch, we tried.

"it is amazing to share hotel with [Contador and Quintana]. I have always seen them on TV and now they are here with me. But our team has always created great riders."