Alejandro repeats podium in Strade Bianche

A heroic race

Just like last year, Alejandro climbed again on the third step of the podium at the end of the Strade Bianche. The Spaniard finished the third behind Stiena Stibar and Greg Van Avermaet after realizing a great race being in front since the first “sterrato”roads. Alejandro lost contact with his two breakaway mates in the final climb after a particularly generous race.

Alejandro’ s quotes:

“I tried to show that attitude the fans ask us to bring to the races, and that’s why I’m super happy with my performance today. The work from the start by the whole team was fantastic. The gusty winds today made important to stay in good position all the time, and as we started all sections of ‘sterrato’ on front, we gained much confidence. I took command of the race far from the finish, always going for all the moves and creating some myself, and that might have made me reach the finish not as strong as I’d have liked to.

“Surely I might have taken a bit too much of an effort, but on the other hand, we have to value what Van Avermaet and Stybar did. They’re tremendously talented, they’re specialists in these race and they might even come in better condition than I did, considering they’re supposed to peak on De Ronde and Roubaix and they rode an important race like Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last Saturday. I took some gels at 5k to go, hoping I would recover a bit as I was feeling empty, but I wasn’t able and I also started to cramp – I really had to stay content with 3rd place.

“Still, I’m really happy with my job and all the team’s – I really feel great. Now it’s time for some days of rest and building up a bit more so we can reach the Volta a Catalunya, my next race, in better condition.”