Lidl-Trek Powers to Podium in Stage 5 Team Time Trial at La Vuelta!
The team delivered a commanding performance in Stage 5 around the streets of Figures securing an impressive 3rd place in the highly anticipated Team Time Trial. The 24km course tested both cohesion and pure power – something the Team here is not short of!
From the start, the guys executed a meticulously planned strategy, riding with precision through the technical corners and narrow streets. With flawless rotation and consistent pacing, the only hiccup occurred when Carlos Verona crashed on a bend in the second half of the test. Despite this, the Team had a lengthy spell in the hot seat where it looked as though victory was on the cards. In the end, the Team clocked a time of 25:35, just 9 seconds off the stage winners, UAE – XRG. The result provided a solid platform in the general classification, with Giulio Ciccone now sitting in 5th heading into the upcoming mountain stages. We also head into tomorrow’s sixth stage with Mads Pedersen ready to defend his new green points jersey.
What Mads had to say..
Today is a real positive, a dream performance from all the guys. The team performed at their absolute maximum and we showed a really good result. We have never won a Team Time Trial in a peloton like this and now we've less than 10 seconds behind teams that do this every time. We took some really big steps during the winter and this season to be there on the top step so I think it's only minor details in the end. The goal was to lose as little time as possible and do a really strong TTT and that's what we did.
