ProTeam Mixed feelings for Steff Cras after the Vuelta a Andalucía

The curtain fell on a hard edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía with an uphill finish in Chiclana de Segura today. The final stage win went to the German Lennard Kämna, who was the strongest of a breakaway group. Steff Cras finished about 20 seconds behind Simon Yates, who led home the group of GC contenders. Dutchman Wout Poels retained his leader’s jersey and takes home the overall win of the 68^th Ruta del Sol. Going into the race, Cras aimed for a top ten spot in the overall rankings, but the Belgian has to settle for a place in the top twenty after five days of racing in Andalucía.

“As a team we can be satisfied with how we raced at this Ruta del Sol”, Steff Cras said. “The guys protected me perfectly during the five stages. Still, I look back on it with mixed feelings. I felt good all week, which proved my 5^th place at the end of stage two in Alcalá la Real. Unfortunately, I had a bad moment yesterday at 800 metres from the top of the first climb. I was part of the leading group but I had to let them go. The consequences were quite big because the fight for the stage win was over due to a lack of organisation during the chase…”

Despite the disappointment on stage four, the Lotto Soudal rider will mainly remember the positive side of things from his participation at the Vuelta a Andalucía.

“What happened during stage four was a major disappointment because otherwise a top ten spot on GC – our goal for this week – would have been possible. Today I felt good again and my shape is definitely growing towards the upcoming races. So in general, I have to be satisfied with the past five days of racing”, Steff Cras concludes.

Image: Photo News.