Tinkoff claimed fourth place in the 21km time-trial from Durazno and back and was within striking distance from the podium on the first stage of Tour de San Luis. The squad, led by Peter Sagan and Rafal Majka, crossed the finish line with a time of 24:16, trailing winners Etixx-Quickstep by 23 seconds.
After the first race of the year for Tinkoff’s six riders in Argentina, Patxi Vila, Tinkoff sport director, commented on the team’s performance: “This was the first race of the year, and it’s always hard to decipher. Nevertheless, given the team’s mixed composition, with some riders who are better suited to this kind of trial than others, we didn’t do too bad.”
“We finished within a short distance both from Astana and Movistar, two of our main rivals, while the Etixx-Quick-Step team did a great trial and they won with merit. We raced at our own level and the guys were good. Considering this was the first test of the year it was fine”, concluded Vila.
The first Tinkoff rider to cross the finish line was Maciej Bodnar, followed by Peter Sagan, Jesper Hansen, Pawel Poljanski, and Rafal Majka.
“This TTT was tough, fast and with a particular heat wave that hit almost 40 degrees,” said Bodnar. “The race today was hard for a team basically made up of long distance riders and climbers but, on the whole, our fourth place shows the team is well trained, we just lack a bit of pace. In the next stages we can only get better.”
Rafal Majka commented on the team’s performance at the end of the trial: “It went well, considering it was the first race. The season is still long and we have plenty of time to achieve our goals. Anyway, I think the fourth place in this team time trial is a good result considering there are so many strong and challenging top teams in this competition”.
On Tuesday, Tinkoff’s six-strong squad is set to tackle the longest stage of Tour San Luis which will take the peloton from the provincial capital of San Luis to Villa Mercedes. The stage’s 182km will be covered again under hot summer conditions and will provide the first opportunity for sprinters.
Time bonuses will also come to play as three, two and one second will be on offer at the two intermediate sprints and ten, six and four seconds will be awarded at the finish line.
