Post Prologue Quotes - “This is a beautiful race and I like coming every year.”
Fabian Cancellara (SUI), First Place, Prologue
Team Saxo Bank
On winning the prologue:
“This is the first race of the year and I’m very happy. This is a beautiful race and I like coming every year. This is the second time I’ve won the Prologue, so it makes me happy. There is lots of beautiful scenery here and the crowds are great.”
On the team’s strategy for the race:
“I have energy to give right now, so we’ll see. It’s important for me to do well for our sponsors and for the team. We’ll have to see what tomorrow brings and take it day by day. The elevation of the race gets harder as the race goes on, so we’re going to decide tomorrow what our strategy will be. We have a good team here and we are really strong. It’s possible we may go for the sprint jersey with J.J. (Haedo). Everybody wants to win and we are ready now, but there are still eight days to go.”
“It’s the first race and you never know how good you really are. We had camp for two weeks and trained really well. This was the Prologue, so we have to see day by day.”
Levi Leipheimer (USA), Second Place, Prologue
Astana
On the crowds at the Amgen Tour of California:
“The crowd was awesome today; this race gets bigger and better every year.”
On placing second in the Prologue:
“Fabian (Cancellara) is tough to beat in the Prologue, but I’m very happy with second place. This is the perfect situation. I feel great; right on track. Obviously the competition is extremely good, and a lot can happen in the next few days.”
On the Amgen Tour of California:
“The first three years of the Amgen Tour of California were amazing, and every year it has been getting bigger and better with more crowds. I think you do have the ‘Lance factor’ this year, but there seems to be more people here in general, which is good for everyone. More media attention is a great thing.”
“The time trial in Solvang will make a difference in this race, but after today, I feel pretty confident. Being so close to Fabian today is a good sign, but you never know what can happen. Something can happen tactically that could change the race.”
On the potential for bad weather:
“We’ve all had bad days on the bike; we just have to be prepared and ready for the worst.”
On his teammate, Lance Armstrong:
“You could tell he (Armstrong) was really excited today. He’s paying attention to the details; not just going through the motions.”
David Zabriskie (USA), Third Place, Prologue
Garmin-Slipstream
On today’s prologue:
“This is a nice way to open a race. I like a Prologue for an opening stage. The course was pretty straightforward. We were lucky the rain held out. I got third, so that’s great.”
On his team’s strategy for the race:
“We would like to do well in the general classification and maybe put one of us on the podium; that is a pretty good goal for us.”
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
On the Amgen Tour of California:
“The Amgen Tour of California is the biggest race in the United States. California is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and we have some of the most extraordinary athletes in the world; this is a great event. What is so great about this race is that it moves around every year, so people from all over the world can see the beauty of California; it’s what makes this race spectacular.”
“We have 100,000 people watching here today, and this race will bring $100 million to the state of California.”
Andrew Messick, President, AEG Sports
On today’s Prologue:
“I think this was an absolutely fantastic day powered by the amazing cyclists, and also by the force of the fans. By and large, this was the most successful Prologue we’ve ever had and a fantastic way to start the 2009 Amgen Tour of California.”
foto Cor Vos ©2009
