Vuelta a Burgos – Aleksejs Saramotins «It was my day today»

IAM Cycling finished the Vuelta a Burgos on a high note thanks to the 12.45 kilometer time trial victory of Aleksejs Saramotins.  Nairo Quintana (Movistar) took second place on the stage behind the Latvian rider, securing for himself the overall victory.

Two days before returning to his home in Nice to recuperate for the Tour of Spain, Aleksejs Saramotins pulled out all the stops to grab himself a victory.  Racing at an average speed of 50.47 kilometers per hour, Saramotins, who took second place in the Latvian time trial championships early in the summer, put the final touches on what has been an excellent week of racing for the Swiss Pro Continental team.

“It was my day today.  I had good legs and the course was tailor-made for me.  I really wanted to achieve something and Marcello was responsible for motivating me and encouraging me constantly.  I have not raced for over six weeks, but even so, I managed to get my first win of the season.  It took a lot of work, but the reward is great, especially considering that I beat riders like Quintana, Brajkovic, Plaza as well as Moreno.  I had a good deal of confidence even though I had a fairly average early part of the season.  All week, we have really tapped into all of our resources.  It is a state of mind that we began to build during our 15 day altitude training camp in the Bernina range in the Swiss Alps.  And it will certainly carry forward for a good Tour of Spain.”

Marcello Albasini, the directeur sportif in charge of the team founded by Michel Thétaz, also the CEO of IAMFUNDS.CH, happily noted the merits of his riders.

“Admittedly, Aleksejs Saramotins was a little lucky today because the wind increased later in the day, so he was better able to make use of his high gears, with a 56 tooth chain ring up front.  But that does not detract from his performance.  He went out looking for this victory.  And it is the nature of this team to give everything for each race.  Everyone has really worked very hard for each other and never thought only of themselves.  This mindset has been promoted and refined since our altitude training in Bernina.  With two stage wins and another 2^nd place in a stage, we have been 100% successful.  It will be hard to top this at the Vuelta.”