José Joaquin Rojas finds form at the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
José Joaquin Rojas of Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step finally found the much awaited victory to begin his 2012 winning campaign.
He out-sprinted Wout Poels, Fabian Wegmann, Daniele Ratto and Arthur Vichot to grab the top podium position during the opening stage of the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco 2012.
The Spaniard held onto his sprint and waited for the right moment.
A perfectly timed final attack during the final kilometres of the race helped him with his first victory of the new season.
The stage winner attacked during the final 50 metres of the race and managed to overcome the race favourites.
Rojas took a total time of 3 hours, 57 minutes and 44 seconds to grab the top podium spot during the 153 kilometre tour opener.
The 26-year-old was overwhelmed with the victory and thanked his team-mates for their support during the race.
He told the media after crossing the finish line, "When we entered the final straight I saw a small gap on the right side I could barely pass through".
"I thought: 'I'll either get past or crash'. I didn’t care about crashing, because we take so many risks on the road that danger comes from everywhere, but everything turned out well".
The Spaniard further added, “This victory is the fruit of all work I did during the winter; I’m a rider who needs victories, and when you’re always coming close and victories don’t arrive, doubts grow up even more”.
Rojas started his professional hunt with Team Liberty Seguros-Wurth in 2006 and penned a deal with Team Movistar in 2007.
The cyclist helped the Spanish team with a number of victories during his stay with the side.
He won the 2011 Spanish National Road Race Championships and also claimed the sixth stage of the Volta a Catalunya.
Joaquin secured the first position at the Trofeo Deia, 2nd at the Clasica de Almeria and occupied the third spot at the Trofeo Magaluf-Palmanova in the past season.
Rojas is currently leading the stage 1 classifications with a healthy lead over the second and the third position holders.
He is now eyeing the remaining stages of the event to ensure his dominance at the overall classifications of the six-day race.
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