They were the best of the rest, the riders who went closest to Nicolas Roche in the battle for stage two of the Vuelta a España. For Katusha’s Dani Moreno and Ag2r La Mondiale’s Domenico Pozzovivo, Sunday’s stage will be the one which got away.
“In the final part I was ahead so I tried to attack,” said Moreno, who chased hard after Roche made his move but wasn’t able to close him down. He finished two seconds behind at the finish. “I had good, but not great, feelings about my shape. The first days of a Grand Tour after a rest period are always like this, though. It's a pity I couldn't win, but the second place is a good result.”
Moreno’s top success thus far has been this year’s Flèche Wallonne. He also won a Vuelta stage in 2011.
As for Pozzovivo, he also joined up with the others in chasing down Leopold Konig of the NetApp Endura team. He then made his move just before 500 metres to go, but Roche and then Moreno were able to get across to him.
“Yesterday in the team time-trial I noticed that my feeling was pretty good,” the Italian explained. “I had a little doubt at the start this morning because today was the first stage that finishes on a climb. I felt well throughout the race and I was well-supported by my teammates.
“I stayed into the bunch on the climb but I suffered in the flat part with a crosswind. The last part of the ascent was a little steeper and I saw that three riders attacked so I tried to stay with them.”
He explains that the riders were looking at each other in the final kilometre and so he seized the initiative and attacked. However Roche was too strong and was able to get back up to him, then to blast past.
“We looked each other in the last kilometre and this is where I tried my luck,” he said, explaining his tactics. “The last 200 meters were a little bit easier and thus in the favour of Nicolas Roche and Daniel Moreno, who are faster than me in these kind of finals.”
He would have loved to have won, but accepted the result. He saw the bigger picture, namely his GC ambitions. “I’m glad after this stage, even if I don’t win. I saved some time on my competitors and it’s a great morale booster.”
Meanwhile Katusha’s designated team leader for the Vuelta, Joaquim Rodriguez, explained why he wasn’t able to stay with his team-mate today.
“I saw Moreno attack but I couldn't follow him immediately,” he said. “I was in a good shape, but the lack of racing affected my performance. Anyway I think it's normal after the rest period at the end of the Tour de France.”