Final time trial around Madrid brings good Vuelta for Team dsm-firmenich PostNL to an end

An almost 25 kilometre time trial through the streets of Madrid brought to a close the Vuelta a España on Sunday afternoon. With some technical sections in the opening part of the route, the majority of the parcours took place on fast and rolling roads where the time trial specialists could come to the fore. Having battled through the previous 20 stages, most of the Team dsm-firmenich PostNL squad aimed to get through the stage safely and in a good way. Former Dutch U23 time trial champion Enzo Leijnse gave the course a good go and set a good early time, stopping the clock in 28 minutes and 37 seconds, while last-down the ramp for the team, Max Poole, went two seconds faster than Leijnse come the finish.

Looking back on the Vuelta, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL can reminisce about that epic stage five sprint victory with Pavel Bittner; two stage second places, three thirds and five further top tens across the 21 days of racing.

Road captain Chris Hamilton said: “I think everyone, both riders and staff, can be really pleased with how the Vuelta went. Almost every day we’ve had an impact on the race. We had some great results here, starting with the stage win with Pavel and then the podiums with Max from the breaks. We also got third with Max in the points classification which was also pretty impressive. Finally, to have eight guys arrive here in Madrid, with three first-timers in the squad, is a massive achievement so I think everyone is really happy. I think we can look back and be satisfied with how this Vuelta went.”

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Phil West added: “It was the final stage today and I think we can look back on three weeks of racing and be really satisfied with what we achieved. We started the race with a goal at first for Max to see how he can come in the GC, for his development, and of course go for the sprints with Pavel. I think after a few days when Max had his crash that changed the perspective on our goals and we were very much in the mindset for stages. After that the teamwork in going after that goal with the guys and the staff has been super. On sprint days we have worked really well to support Pavel and then on the days when we searched out the break opportunities, then we showed that we can function really well as a team. Not only make the breaks but also help control the break phase and who should and shouldn’t be in there. That’s something we can take with us into other races as well. Overall, I think we can be really happy with the race. The teamwork has been really good and we’ve finished the race with eight riders, and three of them have completed their first Grand Tour, and we made some nice memories along the way. We will hope to use this and grow for the future.”