07 February 2016
IAM Cycling
THE QUOTE
I was able to stay with the best climbers on the queen stage, Reto Hollenstein said at the end of the Vuelta Valenciana, where he took 14th place. The gradient was steep, but I gave absolutely everything to get the best result possible. I was just missing twelve seconds to be able to crack the top-10. And I lost those few seconds in the time trial. Even without winning a stage, this race provided an excellent training block and preparation for the whole team. I am certain we will start getting the top results in the coming races.
THE ANALYSIS
I definitely saw how promising Reto Hollenstein is during this Tour of Valencia, Rik Verbrugghe confessed. He was strong in the time trial as well as during the more mountainous stages where you would not expect someone of his size to be present. This certainly proves with what good condition he has started the season. Jonas Van Genechten also showed he could play a leading role in the sprints. He is still missing some of the details for the finer points. But in view of the results he obtained in Spain this week, we will have a team capable of going on the offensive and ready to race at the Ruta del Sol and the Tour of Algarve.
THE NUMBER
5 – The place that Jonas Van Genechten succeeded in grabbing inthe streets of Valencia for this fifth and final stage. Caught off guard byStijn Vandenbergh, the peloton was only fighting for second place on the line, having mistimed the catch and ended by finishing a handful of seconds behind the stage winner.
Race pictures – BettiniPhoto©2016
