Poitiers held the finale of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes in France, which, contrary to previous years, didn't see a Movistar Team winner, despite two of the Blues, Adriano Malori (2nd) and Jonathan Castroviejo (3rd), finishing on the GC podium behind German Tony Martin (EQS).

A team-mate of the latter, Italian Matteo Trentin, took the win in a sprint of a stronger field than in other occassions, as Castroviejo and Sütterlin claimed 10th and 12th. The Movistar riders, dominators of yesterday's ITT in Loudun, also won the teams' classification.

"I'm very happy with my victory in the time trial," Malori told Directvelo. "I'm just disappointed to have lost time on the first two days. I think we were asleep, but that's the game. We lost the overall standings against the best time triallist in the world. I am still happy with my 2nd place. 

"It was impossible to try something today. The climb on the circuit was too short. Furthermore, Tony Martin had a very strong team around him. In fact, I was more concerned by Sep Vanmarcke because I knew he could take my 2nd place. He could have taken bonuses in the sprint. He came close to that by finishing 4th.

"We started badly this week and finally we end with two guys on the podium and the tams classification. I have my eyes on the World Championships where I will be aiming for a top 5 in the TT. It will be harder than last year, with better competition. I think about the return of Taylor Phinney. I may be riding in Canada and I will focus exclusively on the preparation for the Worlds."

"2nd and 3rd in GC is good for the team," Castroviejo told Directvelo. "Tony was very strong this week. He was always on the attack from the first day. I was a little disappointed with my time yesterday. I think I could have won it. But I was still happy for Adriano. 

"Today, it was too difficult to make a difference on a 400m climb. Then there were other teams that had the advantage of having a large team. 

"I think I can get a good result on Sunday in Plouay. Then I will go to Canada to compete in the two WorldTour races. Then the World TT Championships will come up. I am only 60 kilos. I'm not as powerful as some riders, so if I can be between 5th and 10th, it would be great. 

"I'm glad I have been strong from the beginning of the season. I always did well in time trials and also in the mountains. We saw that in the Tour de France. It's not easy to be present in both areas.

"Furthermore, I often find myself working for my leaders in the biggest races. I would like to win important one-week races in the future. I am aiming at Tirreno-Adriatico for example, it is a time of year that I like. I'd like to try to go do Paris-Nice also."