Our team rode to third place in the Orihuela time trial, stopping the clock in 44:06.
David De La Cruz, Laurens De Plus, Philippe Gilbert, Iljo Keisse, Yves Lampaert, Daniel Martin, Zdenek Stybar and Niki Terpstra were the eight Quick-Step Floors riders to roll down the ramp for stage 1 of Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which consisted of one of the toughest team time trials of the year, a 37.9-km one on up-and-down roads, a course which was expected to create some important gaps between the general classification contenders.
One of the last squads to get things underway in the small town of Orihuela, the host of the inaugural stage of the 68th edition, the Quick-Step Floors boys found their rhythm early and had a strong ride on this brutal opening stage of the Spanish event, setting at one point the best time at the arrival, 44:06, at an average speed of 51.565 km/h. Eventually, the squad finished in third place, behind BMC and Team Sky, but ahead of many teams which came with high hopes of making a good GC, a result that bodes well ahead of the next stages.
First one of these is scheduled Thursday, between Alicante and Denia, when five categorized climbs will be on the menu.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
