TdF the Prologue - Cervelo PR

Thor Hushovd (NOR): “I didn’t want to take too many risks. The most important thing is to be ready tomorrow for the stage and try to take the green jersey. There are no time bonuses anymore, so it’s hard for the sprinters to try to take the yellow jersey with time bonuses.” Carlos Sastre (ESP): “For me it was nice to start the Tour de France after these hard four weeks with the back problems that I had. I could not do intensive training like I normally do so I didn’t know how I would be today. I am happy because I did not have pain in my back. That’s the most important thing. There are 20 days of racing ahead of us, so anything can happen.” Jeremy Hunt (GBR): “It was special today to be on the start ramp. I am a classics rider, so I have never been to the Tour de France before. It’s never too late. The Tour is one of those races that you dream about your whole life. When you’re a boy, you dream of racing the Tour, Paris-Roubaix. I am excited to be here at the Tour. They told me to take it easy in the prologue, to not risk crashing. We have a great team here at the Tour. We will help Thor to try to win the green jersey and help Carlos win the yellow jersey. My goal is to make it to Paris and hopefully see one of our guys on the podium.” Ignatus Konovalovas (LTU): “I couldn’t suffer today like I wanted to. I couldn’t go full-gas when I needed to. With the rain and the corners, it was more difficult. Yesterday, when we saw the course, we thought, ‘OK, great time trial course.’ But when we raced it in the wet conditions, it was much more difficult. Also, with the big crowds, you couldn’t see the corners. Now I will focus on helping the team. I was hoping for a top-20, but this is the Tour de France. The best riders are here. I am happy to be at the Tour. My goal is to help the team the best I can.” Andreas Klier (GER): “The stage on Sunday will be challenging. We know we can expect wind, narrow roads and maybe some rain. The part of the course that goes near to the sea is early in the stage, but we will want to be careful to keep our leaders out of harm’s way. We can expect it to be a bunch sprint, but we must be prudent and avoid crashes or splits in the peloton.”

"Great to see that the Team are looking futher ahead than just today as I have a feeling that this Tour might go the same way as the Giro and it could provide some twists and turns as I expect the jersey to change hands a few times over the next 7 days. With only 8 riders, it will be a challenge but the Team has a wealth of experience and should do ok." - Rich

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