Etixx - Quick-Step placed 2nd in the 38.8km UCI World Team Time Trial Championship on Sunday in Richmond (USA), 11.35" down on winner BMC Racing Team (42:07.97), after the two teams had a small time difference between each other after the third intermediate point.

BMC Racing Team passed through all three checkpoints fastest, but by the third time check their advantage was down to about five seconds. BMC Racing Team averaged 55.275km/h, while Etixx - Quick-Step averaged 55.014 kilometers per hour. Movistar, who earned Bronze in the event, crossed the finish 30.11" down, showing the TTT was closest between the gold and silver medal teams.

"I'm very happy with the performance of the team and my own performance," Tony Martin, three-time UCI World ITT Champion, said. "We started well, we found a good rhythm, which was in my opinion not too fast and not too slow. We were balanced as a team, with no super strong or weak riders. It was smooth, as it should be in a team time trial.

"I was a bit surprised about the early split time compared to BMC Racing Team. So, for sure, the morale was a bit affected early on. But then as we went along the parcours, we were gaining seconds back. I think that gave us a small push. We were really fighting, and we had a really strong performance all the way through the finish line. So, I am satisfied about the overall performance.

"This was also one of my big objectives of the season, and my performance gives me confidence ahead of the UCI World TT Championship on Wednesday. It's hard to analyze myself, but as my teammates said, they were suffering a little bit when I was in front (laughs). So, I'm sorry for that. But it means I am in a good way, it gives me a good feeling for my next objective. I will go for it.

"I am disappointed for the team in that we didn't win, but we did our best, and my own performance boosted my morale before Wednesday. We will see what can happen in a few days."

"I'm really happy about the performance of the team here in Richmond," Michal Kwiatkowski, defending UCI World Road Champion, said. "We did the best we could. The team was really motivated. I did my best, as did everyone. Yves, Rigo, Tom, Tony, Niki, we all worked really well together on this parcours. We tried to go for the victory, but BMC Racing Team was the strongest today. Congratulations to them. As for me, I had great sensations today. I did even better than I expected. I think we all really performed at our highest level possible. The fastest team won today. That's sport."

"It was surprising, the time difference on the last section of the parcours," Sport Director Tom Steels said. "We were gaining time at the end of the race. At the middle of the race we were already improving. If you see the values of the riders, their data, I don't think we could have gone any faster than what we did today. It was a really close TTT, and I can't think of any moment when we really lost the race. BMC Racing Team was just better today, so congratulations to them. I think we earned silver as a cohesive unit, and we can be satisfied with a strong performance."