Azparren tenth in time trial

Xabier Mikel Azparren has delivered a fantastic performance in today’s time trial in the Giro d’Italia. The Basque rider finished in tenth place, 54 seconds down on stage winner Daan Hoole. Azparren reached an average speed of 51,3 kilometers an hour between Lucca and Pisa. It’s the first World Tour top ten for the 26-year-old rider

Xabier Mikel, a former Spanish junior and U23 time trial champion said:

“The preparation for this race started many months ago. This time trial was always a big objective for me and the team. My main objective was to win and that is what we trained for. At this level everything needs to be perfect and today we had some minor issues. I think a top five was really possible if everything went perfect.

I am very happy with the legs I had today. They were great and that gives me a lot of confidence for the next days. I hope to win a stage and be there for Tom and Matteo as much as possible.”

The Giro d’Italia continues on Wednesday with a mountain stage between Viareggio and Castelnovo ne’ Monti. It is 186 kilometers with almost 4,000 meters of elevation. Stage 10 has three categorized climbs of which the last one is just five kilometers from the line.