Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r) was the big surprise in today's Vuelta a Espana time trial when the tiny Italian finished 3rd behind the time trial giants Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack) and Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). Having originally hoped to make it into the top 15, the climber was positively surprised by the result.

Due to his tiny build, Domenico Pozzovivo's time trialling abilities are often underestimated but he Italian usually performs rather well in the race against the clock. Nonetheless, few would have imagined the Italian to finish 3rd behind Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin on today's Vuelta stage.

The course had a category 3 climb in the first part which favoured the Ag2r climber but the final section was only about power and suited the pure specialists. Having set the fastest time at the top of the climb, Pozzovivo defended himself well on the descent to set a time that was only 1.24 slower than Cancellara's.

The performance was enough to move him from 10th to 6th on GC, 2.44 behind new overall leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana). He now finds himself in a perfect position to reach his pre-race target of a top 5 result.

Pozzovivo was positively surprised by the result.

“I’m really happy with my performance," he said. "Today, my goal was to finish in the top 15 on the stage but I never imagined getting the 3rd place! I have had good feelings since the start of this Vuelta and I recovered well yesterday."

"When we checked out the course this morning, I noted immediately that it would suit me. I gave the best in the first rising part but I was a little bit surprised to get the fastest time at the top! Then, I did my best not to lose too much time in the descending part. I had a good momentum and I kept energy until the finish line. I gained time on my main competitors overall and that’s the most important.”

Sports director Julien Jurdie was equally pleased.

“The course of this individual time-trial was very demanding with a 3rd category climb in the first part,", he said. "Domenico set the right pace from the start and we immediately saw that he was in a great shape. He managed to limit the damage in the last part. We were optimistic at the start since we aimed at a top 10 on this time-trial but the result is really beyond our expectations! We also have a good position in the overall standings. There are still 10 days of racing which will be long and difficult but today is a great day for the AG2R LA MONDIALE team and we have to enjoy it!”

Pozzovivo now faces a couple of easier stages before the three difficult Pyrenean stages over the weekend. Starting at 15.00 CEST you can follow tomorrow's stage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.