Vuelta a España stage 7 reactions: Rafal Majka, Nairo Quintana, Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar
Aug 31 2019 05:50 am CET
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The sixth stage of the Vuelta a España had a mountain finish in the infamous climb of Mas de la Costa and Alejandro Valverde showed to have the best legs at the end of the day. Rafal Majka -who finished in the fourth position, Nairo Quintana -who climbed to the fourth overall place, Primoz Roglic -second in GC and the stage, and Tadej Pogacar, talked about the stage at the end of the day.
Rafal Majka (Bora-hansgrohe)
"I am really happy with my performance and result today. I felt good and I am normally better on longer climbs, therefore I am satisfied that I could follow the attacks taking 5th place at the end. And also on the general classification, I moved up to 5th place. This wouldn't have been possible without the help from my teammates, they did such a great job, therefore a big thanks to them. Of course, it is still a long way to Madrid but we take it day by day and see what we can achieve altogether. However, tomorrow will be again a chance for the faster men in the peloton before we head into the mountains of Andorra."
Nairo Quintana (Movistar)
"I wanted to push hard into those slopes to pay the team back for their hard work all day, while Alejandro saved energy at the back of the group to try and sprint to the win, just like he did. It was our plan before the stage: I went on the attack to test our rivals’ legs and maybe even going solo, while Alejandro tried the move he delivered at the end. When he sees the finish, Alejandro transforms himself. The climb is quite peculiar, with those steep slopes, and considering we’re into day seven of the Vuelta, and after two previous, consecutive mountain stages, the wear and tear start to show and it encourages you to keep trying, seeking for a mistake from your rivals. Alejandro is currently ahead of me in the GC, he’s doing better and I stand by what I said earlier this week, but we remain day-by-day, seeing what happens. It’s still a long way home, and together with the team we must continue to do our best."
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma)
"It was a short, tough, but sweet climb," Roglic said. “This is the kind of finish that is perfect for Valverde. I have shown that I can also do these climbs, but Alejandro was the best today. I am very happy with this second place and with how things go. Everyone knows that it is difficult to win races without a team. What the team showed today was impressive. My compliments to them for how they supported me today. They were really strong. We are doing well and are in a good position."
Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates)
"It wasn't just the last climb that was tough, it was the whole day. It was really fast right from the start making this stage the hardest of the week. I am feeling in good shape at the moment, so we will have to wait and see about tomorrow – and then we have our rest day"
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NAIRO QUINTANA
PRIMOž ROGLIC
TADEJ POGAČAR
LA VUELTA CICLISTA A ESPAñA
