Etixx - Quick-Step rider Zdenek Stybar made his 2015 road debut at 198.1 Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia on Saturday, and the Czech rider already rode his way to a podium placing.

After a two-rider breakaway was neutralized at kilometer 146, in an up-and-down race with four categorized climbs and a Cat. 3 summit finish, Rein Taaramäe (Astana) went solo. He had a 2'20" advantage all the way into the final 5 kilometers.  He held his advantage to the finish line for the victory, but only by 10 seconds over the peloton behind him. Bauke Mollema (Trek Factory Racing) was 2nd, and Stybar arrived in 3rd.

Stybar, Czech Road Champion, made his debut in the Spanish road race after an extended winter off-season due to two crashes in Ardooie — the first at Eneco Tour on the road, and the second as the defending World Champion at a cyclocross race.

"I'm happy, but second place would also have been possible. A car blocked the line. Just before the finish line there was a parked car! I did not take any risk and chose a safe third place. Not bad, of course. Tomorrow I will do the Clasica de Almeria," he said.

Halfway through the race, Stybar didn't know what to expect. "Until that point I still did not know where I was going to end." His feelings began to change on the climb of Collado Bermejo. "Only the best 20 riders were left. I was happy to be there, because a climb of 15 kilometres is not what I like in a race, "he said. "Once at the top, Rein Taaramae attacked and pulled clear. He must have been very strong, because there was a strong headwind and he managed to get an advantage of more than two minutes. So when we started the final climb, we knew it was for second place."

His spring schedule consist of the Volta ao Algarve, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix