Vuelta Etapa 5 – Vicente Reynes «It was difficult to improve on yesterday»

Vicente Reynes is the man on form for IAM Cycling.  The Spaniard for the Swiss Pro Continental team proved it yet again during the fifth Vuelta stage to Ronda.  Even if it was John Degenkolb (Giant Shimano) who narrowly won the day, Reynes earned himself a strong 8^th place while Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) retained the red leader’s jersey just one day before the first real mountainous test.

Having fully recovered from his bout with chronic prostatitis, Vicente Reynes confirmed his fantastic 2^nd place from the day before on the finish in Cordoba.  While taking another good ice bath to cool his overheated body after a day of racing in 41° Andalusian heat, Reynes welcomed his second top-10 of the race.

“We still struggle with the heat, but the course was a little less demanding.  A little more than 30 kilometers from the finish, Saxo initiated an echelon and gaps formed.  I managed to keep up and I concentrated on my sprint.  I had read the roadbook and I knew it was important to be well placed before we hit the flamme rouge.  Everything worked well, but I found myself blocked in a chicane, so I had to brake.  In these circumstances, it was difficult to improve upon yesterday’s result.  But I still got a good 8^th place, good especially remembering my terrible spring.”

Marcello Albasini, one of the directeurs sportifs along with Mario Chiesa, continued to admire the performance of his rider Vicente Reynes.

“He really worked very well.  As the Saxo guys went full gas, there were riders everywhere.  And Vincente managed to stay in the main pack before negotiating for himself a great 8^th place.”