La Vuelta: Alex Aranburu Takes Second Place in Opening Time Trial
Alex Aranburu of Astana – Premier Tech secured a solid second podium place in the opening individual time trial at the Cathedral of Burgos in La Vuelta. Aranburu finished with the best provisional time, but had to wait for defending champion Primoz Roglic to beat his time by just six seconds, taking the stage win and the first red jersey.
“Well, of course I feel a bit of disappointment after I was so close to a stage win, but honestly, it was expected that Primoz Roglic would be the biggest favourite today. I did a good time trial, and I can say I liked it very much. I love these kind of short and explosive races and I was motivated to do a good race today. I tried to do my best on the climb, but also in the final part, which I think was crucial for the stage result. It was not easy to keep a high pace in the last few kilometres, but I succeeded, and I finished with the best provisional time. Well, I had to wait quite long on the hot seat and at the end of the day I just missed the win. However, I can be proud of my performance today and I think this is a good start to the race for me”, – said Alex Aranburu.
The Astana – Premier Tech team had a successful performance in the first stage of La Vuelta. Omar Fraile finished with the best provisional time, followed by Luis Leon Sanchez and Oscar Rodriguez with the third best time. Aranburu’s time secured the team’s first podium place in the race. Additionally, Aleksandr Vlasov made it into the top 10 of the stage, showing strong form ahead of other GC contenders.
“I think that the team had a really solid start today and all the riders showed themselves in the best way. Indeed, we were so close to a victory but instead, we took another second place. However, we knew that Roglic was the main favorite in this short time trial, so we can be really happy with the performance of Alex Aranburu, but also with the stage of our leader Aleksandr Vlasov, who did a very strong time trial and finished inside the top 10 ahead of many other GC contenders. Well, it was a good start for us and now we are looking forward to the next stages”,– added Dmitriy Fofonov, Team Performance Manager.
The opening stage of La Vuelta was a 7.1 km time trial from Burgos to Burgos. The top three finishers were Primoz Roglic, Alex Aranburu, and Jan Tratnik. Aleksandr Vlasov finished in 10th place.
Photo credit: @Gettysport
