Moreno Hofland (Belkin) took his first European victory in a sprint finish when he narrowly edged out Nikias Arndt in the final stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia. We have already posted several reactions and have gathered a few more below.
Dmitriy Sedoun (sports director Astana whose best rider was Tanel Kangert in 24th)
“Andrey [Zeits] won the sprinter’s jersey and [Jakob] Fuglsang saved it for him – in the breakaway today there was a rider with points who could have spoiled the day, but Jakob got out there and attacked an intermediate finish to keep Zeits in white.”
Manel Lacambra (sports director MTN Qhubeka whose best rider was Gerald Ciolek in 21st)
“Today we knew a strong break would go in the first climb and we decided to put Linus [Gerdemann] in it to cover the move.
“The rest of the team were always protecting Gerald very well and in the last kilometers we started to prepare the leadout for him. We were working perfectly but in the last 3km there was some chaos and confusion at the front of the group. We know what happened and how to improve on it. Next time it will be better.
“We are happy with what we did here at the Ruta Del Sol. We raced better and better every day and we won a stage in this prestigious race. Now we are confident for the next races and we can’t wait to race again together."
David Lozano (Novo Nordisk, 79th +0.26, 70th on GC +17.04)
“The day started extremely chaotic and fast with everyone fighting to get into the break. really wanted to make the break so I could fight for the king of the mountains jersey, but it was simply impossible with how intense the pace was up the first climb.”
Christopher Williams (Novo Nordisk, abandoned the race)
“It was such a fast start to the race because it was the last chance for any of the major teams to make up time on the general classification. With each attack, the peloton fought to bring it back and then another break would go. It was a hard end to an already difficult race.”
Pawel Franczak (ActiveJet, 14th +0.01, 79th on GC +20.58)
"From the start of today's stage, I felt very bad. The legs would not turn properly and I could not keep the right cadence. Only after 50km, I started to feel better and then it was fine. Seeing that the peloton would arrive together, I tried to sprint. I don't think that 14th is a bad result but like yesterday I cannot say that it is the maximum of my abilities."
Piotr Kosmala (sports director ActiveJet whose best rider was Pawel Franczak in 14th)
"I leave the region of Andalusia with great optimism. It was a tough stage race with a lot of mountains and a hard test for our rides. Our guys have passed it superbly. We fought at the end of the stages, we tried to go into breakaways, and we did well in the mountains. As it is early in the season and our riders have little experience, I think we performed very well."
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