Vuelta Femenina TTT, Romandie & XDS Astana Tour of Turkey

"I'm super happy because we really wanted this win. It went super fast, I saw it was 9'40" or something so before you know it you finish. We had a really good strategy and we executed it really well, I think we did almost everything the was we wanted."

-Ellen van Dijk. Lidl-Trek wins Vuelta Femenina stage 1 TTT, the Dutchwoman earns first leader's jersey.

XDS Astana Team went in search for UCI points and from their results from the Tour of Turkey they will obtain a huge amount. Wout Poels has won the overall GC followed by teammate Harold Lopez and on stage 8, the team has won it's fourth stage of the week from Matteo Malucelli.

"This is my second win of the season after my stage victory at the Tour of Hainan, and I'm not planning to stop here. I'm happy to finally be riding for a WorldTour team after so many years - I believe I earned this opportunity and I'll do my best to make the most of it."

-Matteo Malucelli

Unfortunately, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) faltered at the end of the time trial, finishing 41.14 seconds behind. In place of his stage victory at Thyon 2000, he saved his second place in the GC against Jay Vine (UAE) fourth in the time trial, 23.9 seconds behind. The Australian completed the podium, 41 seconds behind the winner, Joao Almeida.

"I feel very happy. The goal was to win the race. Unfortunately, I didn't win a stage, but we were always in the front, and that's what matters. To be honest, I was struggling the whole week; I was never feeling 100 per cent, but I gave my best, and I never gave up. Sometimes it's all about your mindset."

-Joao Almeida

"It was a super hard day. I wanted a spot on the GC podium and I think I can be proud of this 2nd place behind Joao Almeida. I went full gas in the TT but couldn't make up 30 seconds. Ending the week with a stage win and 2nd overall feels really nice. I'm super proud of this team! Now, we look ahead to the Criterium du Dauphine (Jun 8-15) and keep building."

-Lenny Martinez