Remco Evenepoel (2nd in the second stage of the Tour of the Algarve): “Everything went well. Second is not the best possible place, but it’s a good way to start this week, there will be other opportunities. Maybe I made the mistake of starting the sprint too early, I wanted to surprise everyone and leave them in the wind. At the briefing this (Thursday) morning, we thought there would be more sidewind in the finale and but turned and was more head on, it was a bit of a surprise. Then there was a faster guy (Daniel Felipe Martinez, winner).
It was a tricky day and we managed to stay out of any trouble. We don’t waste time, the team showed how strong it is by controlling the stage alone, I’m proud of my teammates. »
Daniel Felipe Martinez (winner of the 2nd stage and new leader of the Tour of the Algarve): “I’m really happy, we were aiming for the stage with the team (Bora-Hansgrohe), Sergio (Higuita) stayed with me for a good moment and at the end I felt good. We knew that there was a good chance that it would end in a sprint, I waited for Remco to start and then I told myself that if I took the last turn in the lead, he would have difficulty overtaking me. Now, we know that Remco is very strong in the time trial (22 km, Saturday) but I will try to do my best to defend my jersey. »
Stefan Küng (20th in the second stage, 48 seconds behind Martinez): “Before the last climb, it was already harder than in previous years, it was going hard, there were around thirty of us, and the Soudal Quick-Step didn’t never released. It’s more or less the Remco Grand Tour team (Evenepoel), they are there to train and they are strong. I feel physically that I haven’t ridden much in the race yet but these are good tests for me, it will help me for the future. I got a break at the end that I couldn’t fix, it’s a shame, but I tried to limit the breakage. »
