Francesco Lasca and Caja Rural kicked the Vuelta a Espana off on a positive note when the Italian sprinter finished fifth in the first road stage of the race. Having had an injury-filled season, Lasca was pleased with the outcome of his first big test in the race.

Francesco Lasca got his season off to a very bad start as he crashed early in the year and had to postpone his season debut a few months. Since then he has had a hard time finding back to this best level but today he showed signs of progress when he sprinted to fifth in the first road stage of the Vuelta a Espana.

"It was a very fast finale with tight corners," he said. "I tried to stay near the front to have options but it was very hard on the finishing straight. 5th is not bad for the first sprint.

"I want to thank the whole team for the work they did throughout the stage, helping me staying protected from the wind to save energy. I finished 5th and had good feelings. I gives me morale after a tough year with many injuries. I hope I am back to my best.

“I’m quite satisfied but only one sprinter can be really satisfied, it’s the one who raises his hands up in the air. There are a few classy sprinters here, so my position is kind of a nice one. The finale particularly suited Bouhanni with a few curves. We all know that he’s very agile.”

Earlier in the stage, Lasca's teammate Francisco Javier Aramendia had been part of the early break and was rewarded by the prize of being most aggressive rider.

"It was the first day and we were on the attack," he said. "We didn't have much of a chance but I had to try to give visibility to our team. My teammates were allowed to stay quiet in the bunch. At least we were on the podium. We have to keep working and keep  trying to see if we can make the right break.

"The team did really well with Lasca's 6th place so this is a promising start. My wrist is slowly improving so hopefully I can get back to 100%."