Kim Andersen Time Quotations

This promises well for Carlos' chances in the rest of the race. We had a feeling he'd be in top shape after finishing well in the Tour and later having the time to prepare himself and spend time with his family without being troubled by injuries, illness or stressful contract negotiations. But just before a race starts you always get a little nervous anyway.

Carlos felt really strong at the foot of the decisive climb, so we put Calvente and Piil up front to set the pace. With about six kilometers to go Carlos hit a bad patch and instead of risking a total meltdown, he made the sensible choice to ride at his own pace and he did actually manage to limit his time loss quite well. The other day Carlos was a bit better than Mancebo and today it was the other way round. The time differences are still very small. The way it looks right now Heras and Menchov are the strongest. But there's almost two full weeks left and a lot can happen in that time.

We knew improving to second place would be hard, but Carlos did really well today and like last year he came frighteningly close to winning the Vuelta's last time trial. Menchov did well as expected and that didn't leave us much hope. But it was a tough fight out there and we're happy the podium spot is ours without hassle.

Everything went according to plan, as we were counting on Sastre, Peron and Piil to do really well today and at the last intermediate time it even looked as if Sastre might take the second place, but unfortunately he stalled a bit towards the end.

It's been a long time coming and we're proud of our first contract. We're proud to be union!