Igor Anton in pursuit of the overall Vuelta a Espana victory
Igor Anton of Team Euskaltel-Euskadi is riding the Vuelta a Espana 2012 with the overall classifications as his major goal.
With 10 Grand Tour appearances already under his belt, the cyclist is definitely not short of experience required for a three-week stage race.
He participated in two Giro d’Italia, two Tour de France and is currently marking his seventh Vuelta a Espana appearance.
Igor has already filled his bag with four Grand Tour stages previously in his career and seems positive to secure a podium spot at the Spanish Grand Tour this year.
The cyclist is having a dry season and his only two commendable performances include a third place finish at the Klasika Primavera and a ninth overall spot at the Vuelta a Burgos.
"It has been a very intense week," Anton said.
“I’ve made some mistakes, in the wind, with poor positioning and with the explosive finishes”.
“The wear has been both physical and psychological, but I think I have the capacity to get better after the rest day".
"I am happy because I feel like I’m taking the pulse of the Vuelta".
"The challenge for the general is to be regular every day and not give in. I want to see how far I get. Fortunately, I have won four stages so I can now look at the overall. That’s my challenge”.
The 29-year-old is leading Team Euskaltel-Euskadi at the race and currently holds the eighth overall position after the stage 9 overall classifications.
Securing an overall victory at a Grand Tour race is never easy and same is the case with this year’s Vuelta a Espana 2012.
Runner-up of the Giro d’Italia 2012 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver is leading the category and is desperate to fill his bag with a much needed win at the Spanish race.
The second place is held by the Tour de France 2012 runner up, Christopher Froome of Team Sky who is enjoying the peak of his form and is a definite favourite to challenge Team Katusha cyclist.
Alberto Contador of Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank is at the third position and the Spaniard is anxious to get his name amongst the winners after missing out on most of the season and a first place finish at the Vuelta a Espana can just serve the purpose.
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