Xavier Tondo finished third in the stage to Vallnord in Andorra and also sits third overall in the Vuelta a España. The Spaniard does not make a big deal about it, saying that Carlos Sastre is still the captain of the Cervelo TestTeam in the Spanish Grand Tour.
Tondo was very content to have equalized his best stage result from the Giro d’Italia (he was third in stage eight to Monte Terminillo this year). Despite his good form and the two-minute advantage over 13th-placed teammate Carlos Sastre, Tondo stays a loyal domestique.
“Carlos Sastre is the leader, and it will stay this way until the situation develops otherwise,” he said according to europapress.es.
Tondo is now looking forward to the next stages, with crucial moments already in sight. “I will take it day by day, but the time trial of Peñafiel benefits me, although there are very hard days in the mountains. In June I checked out the three climbs in Asturia and the Bola del Mundo. They are truly very difficult,” Tondo said.
On Sunday, the race finishes in Lagos de Covadonga. It is a place that Tondo’s teammate Iñigo Cuesta remembers very well. Cuesta was second here in the 2005 Vuelta, behind Eladio Jimenez and ahead of Gilberto Simoni and Carlos Sastre. Tondo can understand the motivation of Cuesta to do well again. “I would love to finish in los Lagos alongside him, because he really enjoys this stage," Tondo said. "Iñigo also helped me a lot."