Vuelta a España. Astana wins opening team time trial

The Kazakh Astana Pro Team had a great start at the last Grand tour of the season La Vuelta Ciclista a España, winning the opening team time trial of 13.4 km in Torrevieja.

From start to finish Astana did a very strong race, passing both the intermediate point and the finish line with the best time. At the finish, the Kazakh team stopped the clock on 14 minutes 51 seconds, and this became the winning time. Miguel Angel Lopez crossed the finish line on the first position and, thus, became the first leader of the race (red jersey), taking also all other jerseys, including the new white jersey of the best young rider.

- We did a very good time trial, all guys put a great effort today and in the end of the day everything worked out perfectly. It is our team’s success and we all are very happy with this victory. What a great day for Astana Pro Team! I am so happy with the red jersey, it was maybe a bit unexpectable for me, but now it gives me a lot of motivation. It was not planned for me to cross the line on the first position. I was sitting on the second position before the last corner, when Gorka Izagirre said me to come in front. I passed the corner and realized there were just 150 meters to go, so I just gave my all until the finish line. Indeed, this is a perfect start of La Vuelta for our team. But, this is just the beginning and the whole race is still ahead. We will keep on racing with a cold head and calm, moving through it day by day, - said Miguel Angel Lopez.

- This is the best possible start of the race you could imagine! We knew we have a strong team here and we were aimed for a high result. A victory today – is a super great result for us, but we know that the race just started, and we have to continue working hard day by day. Anyway, today we are happy, and it is a great pleasure to bring this nice win to Kazakhstan, all our fans, partners and sponsors, especially our main partner Samruk-Kazyna, - said Alexandr Shefer, sports director of Astana Pro Team.

The second stage of the Spanish Grand tour will be held tomorrow: 199.6 km from Benidorm to Calpe.

Photo credit: © Getty Images