Matteo Pelucchi «I have two more chances in Qatar»

Tom Boonen’s (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) legs are on fire so far this season.  The Belgian scored his second stage victory in this year’s Qatar by outsprinting André Greipel in the mass gallop to the line.

In the skirmish, Matteo Pelucchi (25 years old) managed to take a strong 8^th place.  The IAM Cycling sprinter savored his top 10 result before heading off to the massage table.

“I am happy enough with my race and my sprint, though it may seem a little paradoxical.  A placing like that at this difficult level of competition is not that bad of a result, and my legs feel good. 

In this Qatar, I can still win one of the two remaining stages.  Tom Boonen is not invincible.  But today Omega Pharma-Quickstep certainly set him up flawlessly so he could make a faultless sprint. 

I was well positioned with three kilometers to go to the finish.  I lost a few places in a corner and had to gain back my position little by little, exposing myself to the wind more than I would have liked.  Then with 300 meters to the finish, I was out in the wind on my own, so a victory was out of the question.” 

As usual, Matteo Pelucchi exudes serenity, and is confident in his progress.

“I worked a lot this winter.  And I was already surprised with how well I was going at our training camp on Mallorca.  Today I was able to confirm the benefits of my preparation.  I am feeling better every day.  The legs feel supple, and I am not suffering from the fatigue I felt last year.” 

Equally optimistic, directeur sportif Kjell Carlström pointed out that the stage was raced at a staggering average speed of 57km/h!

“Matteo has taken a step ahead.  It shows.  He was already at ease during our training on Mallorca in mid-January.  And in spite of the bewildering speed at which they covered today’s stage, he still succeeded in hanging tough at the front with super fast guys like Boonen, Greipel and Démare.  That means all the hard work is beginning to show dividends.  I am glad to see him thinking about his next attacks.  He’ll come away with a big win with an attitude like that.”