Nieve: "We'll fight for the podium"

Mikel Nieve made a big leap up the GC in the Tour de Suisse today by placing second on the eighth stage to Arosa. Heading into tomorrow's decider, he's only 15 seconds off the podium and 40 away from leader Rui Costa. With the stage being another day in the high mountains, the Euskaltel leader is naturally aiming high.

"Let's see how the stage turns out, but I hope it'll be fast and hard", he told the team's website. "I'll give it my all, just like I did today, and I hope my legs will respond. My rivals are top class and they'll be on form. Depending on how the day develops, we'll try to fight for the stage win, the podium, perhaps both if that's possible, but it's hard to tell. First of all we'll recover, and we'll see how it goes tomorrow".

Despite looking fresh and full of chispa in the finale, Nieve explained the racing is taking its toll.

"I'm exhausted. We've been racing for eight days now and the fatigue is accumulating. It was very hard out there today - I'm feeling the strain".

Euskaltel continue to lead the team rankings, and the 28-year-old had a few words for his team-mates.

"I think we're doing a good race. The team has helped me out a lot, and both Mikel (Astarloza) and Gorka (Izagirre) got good results. It's noteworthy we're heading the team standings in a high-calibre race like the Tour de Suisse".

Photo: www.cyclingnews.com