Tinkoff-Saxo and the rest of the pack in Vuelta al País Vasco were thrown right into the mix with an undulating stage typical for the terrain of the Basque Country. Four Tinkoff-Saxo riders, including Rafal Majka, crossed the finish line in Bilbao in the decimated main bunch, where Michael Matthews took first place in the sprint.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo’s sports director Sean Yates notes after the race that Rafal Majka’s presence at the front was an uplifting sign after the talented climber had suffered from sickness during the recent Volta a Catalunya.
 
“It was nice to see Rafal, where he should be. The favorites didn’t go full gas on the final category two climb, but he came to the fore, which, at least for the moment, bodes well for the upcoming harder stages. Rafal was obviously feeling fairly well on the climb and he made sure that he didn’t lose any time, which was our main goal today. We wanted to take a day to settle into the race following the past weeks, where several of the guys have been ill”, says Sean Yates after the stage finish.

Stage 1 of Vuelta al País Vasco took the riders 162.7km from Bilbao and then back to Bilbao. After three categorized climbs and a fast descent to the finish line, Michael Matthews (Orica – GreenEdge) proved the fastest on the line, while Tinkoff-Saxo, without a sprinter on the team, settled back during the final burst for the line.
 
“It was a typical first race day of a World Tour race, where a small group of guys went in the breakaway and nobody really wanted to pull in the pack before some of the bigger teams took over. Kiserlovski, who was ill before the race, survived, but had to concede time just like Petrov, Pires and Beltran, while Chris Anker, Majka, Zaugg and Poljanski all finished in the first group”, tells Sean Yates, who adds:
 
“Our plan is to see where the guys are and especially, if we should expect anything from Rafal in the GC. We stayed out of crashes and Zaugg also had a dig at the front on the final kilometers and showed our team colors”.
 
Tomorrow’s stage 2 offers a variety of challenges with six categorized climbs on the way to Vitoria-Gasteiz.