“After I was able to win the first climb and my legs still felt good, I knew I could give it a go on Mt. Diablo,” said Salas. “I took a hard dig at the base of the climb to let everyone know I was serious about scoring some points. I eased off a bit and near the top I revved it to full power. It was epic seeing all the people yelling, there were thousands of fans up there. I have watched climbs like this on T.V. and wanted to be there competing. To experience it like this is pretty surreal.”
Not to be outdone by his young teammate, team captain Alex Candelario engaged in a battle with the world’s top sprinters in downtown Livermore, finishing fourth behind a who’s who of the world’s top sprinting talent – record setting stage winner Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), sprint jersey holder Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Barracuda), and Tom Boonen (QuickStep-Omega Pharma), the world’s top ranked rider. Candelario once again demonstrated his power and versatility in contesting the four ProTeam stars after such a difficult day of climbing – fractions of an inch separated the four sprinters across the line.
“I got to give it up to my teammates for the opportunity today – people don’t understand how much work it takes for a sprinter to get close enough and actually have a shot at the win,” said Candelario. “Getting bottles, keeping me sheltered in crosswinds, covering moves – Mike Creed literally carried my bottles for me up the Mt. Diablo climb. I love competing in races like this. It’s a bit hard to swallow when you miss a podium against talent of this caliber by just a few inches, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
Candelario, who one year ago finished fifth in a ProTour heavy sprint at the Tour of California also won by the unflappable Sagan, will continue to hunt for opportunities with the rest of the Optum p/b KBS team against the world’s fastest riders.
“Today was a great day for our team. To see Sebastian put on the KOM jersey, and Alex go toe to toe with some of the greatest sprinters in the world, was very cool. Our guys will keep fighting every day to have an impact on this race.”
Salas, polka dots firmly secured, knows the battle is far from over. Tomorrow’s fourth stage, Sonora to Clovis, is a tough route containing six KOM categorized climbs. The stage could see Salas face off against his opponent from stage one’s KOM battle, Team Spidertech’s David Boily.
“I know this is a hard competition to win, it’s one of the biggest races in the world and there is still a ton of climbing left,” said Salas. “We are all ready to take the bull by the horns and work as hard as possible to bring home the polka dots for this team.”