Sáez pleased with maiden GT

First-year Euskaltel rider Adrián Sáez made it through his very first Grand Tour in Italy last weekend. The 26-year-old finished up next to last in 156th place, and deemed himself happy, if a tad exhausted, with the experience.

"I'm a bit tired right now, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I knew some days would be worse than others", he told El Correo. "Mentally, the second week was hard on me, but this race (a GT) is another kind of competition and I really like to ride these kind of races".

He admitted he struggled to cope with the "scandalous pace" in the closing clicks on the flatter stages, adding he'd need a bigger chain ring to keep up, but praised the team's effort.

"The performance was positive. Besides Izagirre's stage win, Txurruka was active and Nieve finished top ten overall".

Much like fellow GT debutant Izagirre, the native of Araia, Álava, will now put his feet up and take some time off before returning to competition in time for the nationals in late June. As for the remainder of his season, he "would love to go the Vuelta, but that would be unexpected".

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com