Tour of Austria, stage 3 – Aleksejs Saramotins: «Trapped in the last corner»

Short of breath and resting his head on his handlebars, Aleksejs Saramotins recuperated quietly after having made his maximum effort in the final sprint that ended the third stage of the Tour of Austria.

Since a recent storm damaged part of the course, the stage was shortened to 119.7 kilometers between Heiligenblut and Matrei in the east Tyrolean mountains.

Thor Hushovd (BMC) grabbed the stage win just ahead of his teammate Daniel Oss.  Aleksejs Saramotins entered the final kilometer well placed.  After the finish he explained the mishap that relegated him to an honorable 11^th place, though he clearly could have ended better:

“I was convinced that I would be vying for the podium today at least.  I managed to find a privileged position at the top of the pack.  Unfortunately, with 800 meters to go, the penultimate curve was not quite the way it was described in the road book.  I had to brake and then another rider blocked me.  So I was basically trapped in the last corner.  I had to accelerate again, by which time I was too far from the front to consider fighting for the victory.  It’s a shame since I have been feeling good since the beginning of this race.” 

Saramotins, the current road Champion of Latvia, is placed 20^th overall at the Tour of Austria and has not given up on the notion of taking the center stage in the next stages.

“I am full of confidence.  The legs look good and so I can set myself a high target through the end of the week.”

Aleksejs Saramotins’ reaction on stage 3

Tour of Austria – Aleksejs Saramotins reaction after stage 3 from IAM Cycling on Vimeo.