Thomas Damuseau grabbed a rare chance to ride for himself when he finished third in the uphill sprint on the first stage of the Vuelta a Burgos. The result completed a great performance by the young Giant-Shimano line-up.

Thomas Damuseau has sprinted to third place on the tough uphill finish of the Vuelta a Burgos, with teammate Daan Olivier, hoping for a strong result overall in the race, not far behind in seventh.

Damuseau finished off a strong day by the team with Chad Haga doing the final pull to bring Olivier and Damuseau into position on the final climb before he tried to surprise the others with an early sprint. Just two riders made it past him leaving Damuseau with his first podium spot of the 2014 season.

The opening stage of the five-day race got underway to a nervous start with the threat of crosswinds in the back of the minds of the riders. This did not stop the early break from forming, comprising of four riders. Their advantage stretched to a few minutes but the the peloton was organised in the chase.

The young Team Giant-Shimano line-up rode well together throughout the day, helping to control the race on the first climb and keep Olivier and Damuseau protected ahead of the key final hill to the finish line.

The team did suffer a set back with Sea Keong Loh crashing hard but he managed to finish the stage before heading off to be assessed by the team’s medical experts.

After the stage, Damuseau reflected on his day saying: “It was quite nervous out there today with the crosswinds and the threat of echelons but as a team we were really focused on the race. The plan for today was that I would go for the sprint on the finish hill and that Daan would also be protected as he is riding for a good GC position.

“On the first climb we saw that we were strong, and weren’t in trouble. We rode as a team into the final climb and Chad did a really good pull to get Daan and I into position. I was riding in the top ten but knew there were some fast guys there so I tried to get the jump on them just before the sprint.

“I am still happy with third as there are some really strong guys here. I think we can have a nice week here at Burgos, especially if we all continue to ride strong like today. There are good opportunities to go in breaks, for Daan on the climbs and then for Lawson and Chad in the time trial too.”