Vuelta Ciclista a España - Cristián Rodriguez: "Three weeks of a very high sporting level"
Cristian Rodriguez finishes 13th in the Vuelta Ciclista a España, while the team finishes 10th in the team classification. 3rd Grand Tour of the season for Arkéa-Samsic in Madrid.
“The overall result of this Vuelta Ciclista a España is a 13th place in the general classification, along with places on some difficult stages. Initially, I wanted to fight for victory on certain stages, so I slipped into several breakaways, which enabled me to move up the overall classification as I went along. It’s my best Grand Tour performance in six participations. I gave it everything I had on this very high-level event. I’m very happy with these three weeks, which have gone by very quickly indeed. There was a very good atmosphere and cohesion in the Arkéa-Samsic team, in which I feel very much at home. I’d like to thank all my team-mates and the staff for their support throughout this Vuelta Ciclista a España”.
“On this Vuelta Ciclista a España, Cristián Rodriguez achieved his best general classification in six Grand Tour participations. He was 13th in Madrid. The Arkéa-Samsic team came 10th in the team classification, which is a good indication of the team’s collective effort, in a race which this year was of a sporting level almost equal to that of the Tour de France. We ended up in Madrid with seven riders, all of them strong despite the fact that some of them were diminished by the minor illnesses that are part and parcel of every three-week race. The revelation of the event was Mathis Le Berre, who negotiated the high-mountain stages well, and went on the offensive in the third week. As for Kévin Vauquelin, he encountered a number of difficulties on this event, but he did learn and was able to measure the areas he needs to work on for the future”.