Alessandro Verre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): "It’s a special day. It’s my first time taking a distinctive jersey in a stage race and it’s pretty special to do it in La Vuelta. This morning, the sports director say: ‘You can go in the breakaway and try to take the jersey.’ I did it and I’m really happy. It was pretty strange, I never was cold blooded, but I was really calm. I took the risk to lose and then I did a long sprint and it went well. Normally, Bouwman was the strongest but then he didn’t have the legs so I took things in my own hands. It’s only the first stage and we have lots of goals. We have to stay calm and be focused for the next days."
