"At first I have to say a big thank you to my team. The lead out worked really well. I got the best position I could have for sprinting."
"When I look at our team here, I see two good climbers and two good sprinters. For sprinting, we have Kenny van Hummel and myself. Today Kenny said he preferred to help me out, so I had the privilege to go into the sprint with him and Koen de Kort in front of me. We don’t want to focus on only one person at Skil-Shimano. The whole team is really strong. "
"When I got the call for Le Tour de Langkawi, I was a little bit afraid because racing in January is very early and it’s new to me. It’s completely different than what I’m used to in Europe. I feel a bit strange to begin my career in Asia where I’ve never raced before but I like it actually. I like the heat. The conditions for racing here are really good. It’s a nice country. People are very friendly. When I look at the eyes of the spectators, I feel that cycling is still something new to them."
"I didn’t know about the history of all these riders like Alessandro Petacchi who have collected their first pro win here or started their career here like Paolo Bettini. But it’s nice to hear. As far as my future is concerned, I don’t want to compare myself with other riders. I’m known as a time triallist, especially since I got the bronze medal at the U23 world championship last year, but I want to show during my first year as a pro that I can also be fast in the sprints. Today is a good start."
Marcel Kittel (Skil Shimano)
“I’m quite disappointed to loose the stage. It is difficult to keep going at the high level. Anyway, he had done a good work today. I will try to keep the yellow and blue jersey. I tried to win the sprint and the team had done everything to get into a bunch finish.”
“Tomorrow is another hard stage. Some people might think that it is easier for sprinters but we have to fight hard for the blue jersey and points. And it is not an easy thing to go up the climb.”
“Tomorrow it will be impossible to keep the yellow jersey but I hope to keep the blue jersey and remain it until the last stage in Kuala Lumpur.”
FARNESE VINI-NERI SOTTOLI: GUARDINI, ANDREA
“This is the third stage and it’s also flat like the days before. Today’s effort I got second place. I am disappointed but we almost achieved our target for stage win, after this there more flat stages to come.”
“For tomorrow and the day after, I will try to get a good placing with the group in the climb so that I can continue my battle for the stages to come.”
“Today I received incentive from CEO of LTdL, and I am really grateful. This will further motivate my team to work even harder.”
TERENGGANU PROASIA CYCLING: MANAN, ANUAR
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