It's OK that the others are ahead of me here. It doesn't worry me. I really didn't try in this Vuelta, ... I'm only here to prepare for the world championships. That's the only thing that matters to me right now.
Quotes about vuelta (15 Quotes)
Rather than designating a leader before the race starts, Phonak is adopting a 'wait and see' policy. We have a couple of guys that are very good right now, ... I think that Santos Gonzalez is good, Gutierrez is good and...Oscar Pereiro, I don't know how motivated he is, but he looks fit. I don't think we are going to pick one person and say that we will work for them. There are other teams to control the race, just like the Tour. Discovery are here, and I think Roberto Heras wants to win, so I would expect that they will work. But the Vuelta is different, anyway, you have to be careful with the wind and so it is more a case that we have to stay together.
Meanwhile, Heras is not sure if he will race the 2006 Vuelta. We will enjoy this fourth victory, ... In the winter we will see if theres a fifth or if we go for other goals.
Stage 14 to Lagos is still left a crucial day because it's a hard climb and being on a wheel will not count. We will see how Menchov reacts, because the fatigue comes to all of us and I'm still having good days. I feel good, and although I wanted to reduce the gap here, I came to the Vuelta to win and I will keep on trying.
I am feeling that my body feels 100 percent for this Vuelta, ... And during the Tour, it just wasn't like that, even though this year was better than last year.
It's okay that the others are ahead of me here. It doesn't worry me. I really didn't try in this Vuelta. I only came to the Vuelta to recuperate my fitness and I leave here at about 80 percent fitness. If I was here at top fitness I might not have reached the peak at the world's. At Madrid, I want to be 110 percent fitness and I didn't want to peak too early.
I haven't done any reconnaissance like the Tour, but I looked at the maps...Anyway, it is a case that if you're strong enough in the mountains, you can win the Vuelta. If not, you get dropped There are seven mountaintop finishes, or something like that. So your strength is the most important thing. As for the time trials, I think the prologue is a bit short. But the last two are better for me.
This guy right here has been my savior. This guy has been phenomenal this Vuelta. I owe him my positioning and my luck. He's been awesome with me, staying with me, keeping me out of the wind.
I still feel good, it's true, but Menchov hasn't failed and it looks like he hasn't done anything. I still have morale and even though I wanted to cut the time differences, I came to the Vuelta to win and I will keep trying.
Carlos did really well in the Vuelta and he fully deserves his spot on the podium. He's an all round rider and it's great to see him prove it with a nice result such as this. It takes a lot to achieve a podium spot in the Vuelta, and I think he's been one of the prominent riders in this race - just as we as a team have been up front in nearly all stages. We took a brilliant stage victory, and with a little luck we could've taken a couple more. On the whole I'm very satisfied with the efforts delivered by everyone. Our aim was to get a good result overall and try for a stage win along the way, and we've achieved both. The team has worked perfectly and everyone down here in and around the team deserve big credit.
I am optimistic and the chip' has been changed, because the Vuelta is a different race, ... It has nothing to do with the (Tour) from a month ago.
The stage characteristics werent for a climber, but its the last week of the Vuelta and strength is very important. A specialist like Plaza won, but I had the mentality to win. I almost won, it was so close. But Im confident thinking of the future because of what happened today.
Nicki has won a beautiful and very prestigious stage and he has every reason to be proud of himself. Steadily he has improved his form during this race and it's really something to be able to ride this fast in the third and last week of the Vuelta. Right now Carlos Sastre is almost certain of his spot on the final podium, and winning a stage on top of this is just icing on the cake for the whole team.
I'm of course not so happy that I didn't ride in the Tour de France and that was my first time that I didn't do the Tour for years. So, it was not so good for me not to ride the Tour, but after my broken ankle in the spring, I was good in the rest of the classics. I also hope to be good for the rest of the season and now I'm a little bit like in the Vuelta, or maybe a little bit better. I'm happy.
I'm lacking a little competition, but the knee is fine. It doesn't hurt and it's good enough to start the Vuelta and begin my preparations for the world's.