By Shane Stokes
Another rider who would very much like to get up on a stage of this race is first year pro Aaron Kemps. The 22 year old Australian has shown good form in recent weeks and said that he is not afraid to fight it out alongside more established sprinters.
"I am hoping to get up there in the sprints on a couple of days, although the last two days have been pretty fast," said the Astana rider. "Yesterday was a little bit slower at the end than the first day, but it was a lot more hectic. Because it was a bit slower I think a lot more riders were trying to get up there to the front and stay up there, but two days ago the finish was really fast.
"Hopefully I can up there and get a top five, top ten in the next couple of days anyway. This is my first big Tour so I was a little bit nervous heading into it. I wasn't even really sure if I was going to race here, it was a last minute sort of thing. But I have had pretty good form lately, landing a win a couple of weeks ago and being in the top ten heaps in the last two months. I am not scared to mix it with the best.
"The victory was in the Vuelta a Burgos. It was good to get the win under my belt but I am still only 22, so I was pretty happy with that. I got second on a stage of the Vuelta Catalunya behind Bennatti, so… I am not scared to go for it against the best sprinters. When you get older you start winning a lot more too, so that is promising."
