Izagirre lands first WorldTour podium

Ion Izagirre defended his second place overall in the final day time trial in the Tour of Poland on Saturday.

The youngest of the brothers headed into the stage 19 seconds down on leader Christophe Riblon, but it was Pieter Weening who somewhat surprisingly turned out to be the strongest against the clock among the GC candidates to scoop the overall win.

Izagirre put on a great ride that was good enough for seventh on the day, and had no trouble catching Riblon to land second. The Frenchman had to make do with third.

"To begin with, I was a little annoyed I didn't win", he told the team's website. "But one has to appreciate a result like this. It's a race of the highest level, and I came here straight from the Tour and got second overall. I've been consistent all week. I have to be pleased about it and enjoy it. I'm happy with how I did"

"I didn't feel really good on the first part of the course today, but on the second I was going better", he explained. "I didn't feel the best, but the guys in the car assured me, I posted good split times, they told me I was doing well, and, eventually, I got a great result".

Results:

• (1, Bradley Wiggins (Sky), 46:36)
• 7, Ion Izagirre, 2:05
• 56, Ricardo Mestre, 4:48
• 62, Miguel Mínguez, 5:11
• 74, Adrián Sáez de Arregi, 5:56
• 83, Garikoitz Bravo, 6:33

Final general classification:

• (1, Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge), 31:58:07)
• 2, Ion Izagirre, 0:13
• 49, Miguel Mínguez, 56:08
• 52, Adrián Sáez de Arregi, 59:42
• 63, Garikoitz Bravo, 1:11:11
• 74, Ricardo Mestre, 1:19:47

Photo: Iñaki Azanza