Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) crushed the opposition in the opening prologue of the Vuelta a Andalucia. We have already posted several reactions and have gathered a few more below.

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana, 129th +1.27)

“After the roundabout at I think kilometer two the crosswind caught me and I fell – I went over the handlebars and smacked my knee pretty hard – it hurts enough, but I can start tomorrow and race normally.”

Ignatas Konovalovas (MTN Qhubeka, 28th +0.27)

“It was a nice circuit, quite technical with lots of corners. I liked it, I just had to go much faster but I felt ok. I just need to have more power in the legs, and that should come in the next days."

Chris Williams (Novo Nordisk, 101st +0.54)

“We got to test out the new time trial bikes, giving us a chance to hone our positions. With several races already finished this season, all of the Team Novo Nordisk riders are eager to show our form and what an all-diabetes team can do against some of the best riders in the world.”

Jesus Ezquerra (ActiveJet, 99th +0.52)

"I was hoping for a slightly better result. A time below 9 minutes was my goal. Of course, the competition was extremely strong because the race is at a high level so it was impossible to battle for the top positions. We will try to go on the attack in the next stages because that is how do something in this race."

Piotr Kosmala (sports director ActiveJet whose best rider was Jesus Ezquerra in 99th)

"I cannot complain about my riders. They had a good level. If they had been riding TT bikes, they would have been 20-30 seconds faster. It gives me optimism for the next stages where we will look for opportunities in breakaways."