Mikel feelin' alright

Mikel advanced to 8th overall after today's second stage of the Vuelta al País Vasco. After crossing the line, the team captain took a couple of minutes of his time to speak to Euskaltel's website. Here's what he had to say: "It's been a hard stage. On paper it didn't look that hard, but in the Vuelta al País Vasco there are no transition days. I felt good today though. I stayed on the wheels of my teammates all day to minimize the effort and to conserve some energy. In the final part I went to the front, as the finish looked a bit dangerous to me. It took a lot of energy to neutralize Landaluze's break, so nobody had the strength to control the last kilometres. The tension was high, so I decided to go to the front of the pack to avoid the danger and eventual mishaps. It was foreseeable that a crash would happen, and so it proved. Now we have to focus on tomorrow's stage".