Giacomo Nizzolo continued Trek's dream start to their first season in the peloton when he beat Francisco Ventoso (Movistar) and Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in the sprint on the third stage of the Tour de San Luis. We have already posted several reactions from the main actors and have gathered a few more below.
Alessandro Vanotti (Astana, 93rd on the stage, 110th on GC +16.27)
“It's January, so it’s hard to race in this 40-degree weather and do well in the first month of the season. Especially in the wind like today – we worked to cover each other and avoid the crashes. Most important after this stage is to go back to the hotel and recuperate.”
Taylor Phinney (BMC, 7th on the stage, 54th on GC +8.34)
"It was a stressful day with the wind. I felt not-so-great most of the day. But by the end, I got kind of a sniff of the finish line and felt a lot better. I spent most of the day helping the guys stay out of the wind. In the end, Manuel Quinziato was really helpful for me in the final, bringing me around and keeping me safe. You get these local races where everybody kind of wants to be a superhero in the final. So you have some guys up there that can kind of create some chaos. I had to start and stop my sprint about three different times, passing riders. Top 10 is fine for me. I'm not a pure sprinter, so I was just kind of mixing it up there."
Jackson Stewart (Sports director BMC whose best rider was Taylor Phinney in 7th)
"I felt bad for the guys. It was hot out there. There were times when it was just tailwind and really hot, so it's extra hot because you're not getting the wind in your face. We had a few mishaps with the crosswinds, but nothing major that split the group. All of our guys stayed out of trouble. It was a dangerous sprint. We didn't expect much from this stage. We were just glad to stay out of trouble. Tomorrow, it's all about the legs. It's going to come down to the finishing climb. We'll see what happens before that, but I think everyone is predicting the climbers will show what they've got at the finish."
Claudio Cozzi (Sports director Katusha whose best rider was Giampaolo Caruso in 26th)
“Today was a sprinter’s stage and we’re here without a sprinter, so we had no expectations for this stage, but we’re happy with how our guys are riding. A lot of riders were dropped today because of the heat as well as the high speeds of the peloton and the wind on course, but nobody of us. We look back satisfied. We are on schedule.”
Orlando Maini (Sports director Lampre-Merida whose best rider was Sacha Modolo in 30th)
"We have worked well during the race, with the intention of giving our sprinters the best conditions to compete in the sprint. Having used a lot of energy to move to the front of the peloton, the sprint boys took the front 2km from the finish line and stayed in control until 300m from the finish. Then the action lost its effectiveness. Maybe Modolo has paid for the effort to get to the front."
Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEDGE, best young rider, 65th on the stage, 19th on GC +4.47)
" We had a bit of a cross-tailwind pretty much all day long. There was the early break as usual, and Garmin took off on the front for most of the day. The breakaway came back to the field with more than an hour left in the race.
"Around the same time the break came back to the bunch, QuickStep put the race into the gutter in the crosswinds. They went really hard for two or three kilometres. It split the fields, but everything came back together pretty quickly after the road changed directions. They split the race to bits but when the crosswind became a headwind it negated their efforts.
"It’s really hot out there, but it honestly isn’t too bad. I’m getting through quite a few bottles. I drank eight or nine today. As long as we keep drinking, it’s all right. This is part of the reason we came to Argentina early. It gave us time to get ready for the heat.
"We saved as much energy as we could in the bunch today. We knew there would be a big fight to get on the front at the end. In the finish, we tried to help Aidis as best we could, but it was really difficult to keep a good position today. He wasn’t where he needed to be when the sprint started, so he wasn’t up there in the results.
"I’m still in the best young riders jersey. It’s not really a priority for the team. It’s something I picked up on the way, really. We’re here to work for Aidis in the sprints, and now that guys like Ivan and Christian are doing well on the overall, we can support those goals, too.
"The main difference for me in this race compared to races last year is that I have a bit more responsibility to the team. My job is to help out my teammates and look for ways to keep them safe. It’s a great experience, and I’m really enjoying myself here. I can’t complain."
Juan Esteban Arango (Colombia, 8th on the stage,59th on GC +9.55)
“It was a hard stage, because of the sweltering heat and hard wind. We also had to deal with echelons a couple of times. We managed not to get cut back, but of course we spent some energy, and some riders definitely suffered.
“The finale was slightly uphill, so it suited me and Edwin pretty well, and the whole Team did a very good job to bring us in position to sprint. In mass kicks things can mess up in a second, but little by little we are improving as a team both in the hard stages and in the sprints. In addition, I am happy that both Edwin and I gave a good signal for the upcoming track World Championships."
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