Katusha double victory boosts team’s morale
Daniel Moreno finished second in the recent Vuelta a Burgos, behind his teammate Joaquím ‘Purito’ Rodriguez. That makes the Katusha riders tackle the Vuelta a España with a lot of confidence. Rodriguez aims to win the race overall, while Moreno wants to add his share for the team to make it happen. Moreno talked about his Vuelta ambitions with Sprint Especial ahead of the Spanish Grand Tour.
The second place in Burgos was a big boost to Moreno’s confidence. “It is true that since Burgos, where the team did very well, we are very excited about the Vuelta a España. We hope to have good form there,” says Moreno.
The goal of the team is clear. “Joaquím is the team’s leader and we hope to help him achieve the clear objective we have – that is to win the Vuelta Ciclista a España.” That does not mean the domestiques won’t get their chances. “With Joaquím we always have liberties and we hope to play our cards and take the opportunities we have to win a stage,” Moreno says.
Moreno stayed winless in 2010, but he changed that en route to his second place overall in the Vuelta a Burgos. He took stage four into the Roman ruins of Clunia, with a one-second win over Olympic Champion Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi). “The team worked very hard that whole day and Joaquím helped in the final kilometers. When the leader works for you it makes you proud and it made me feel proud of my teammates.”
Moreno has a clear vision of the Vuelta podium. “Purito, [Vincenzo] Nibali and [Andreas] Klöden,” he says without hesitation. He also expects Katusha to animate the race. “We will give our maximum in all the stages.”
Moreno sees the future for Katusha very bright. “There are Spanish riders with a lot of quality who fit well in with the team. There is also a group of young Russian riders who train with the team and who give us a lot of joy.”