Jan Barta (Team NetApp) finished second on the stage(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Jan Barta (Team NetApp)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Team NetApp's Jan Barta wins the Rund um Koln(Image credit: Team NetApp)
Jan Barta continued his breakthrough year, as the Team NetApp rider won the Czech time trial title for this fourth individual victory of the season. He said he was “delighted” to have taken the title after finishing second in the last two years.
“My first thought was, I’ve finally done it. After coming second twice in a row, I was desperate to win,” he said on the team's website. “My legs felt good, I felt good. I fought as I always do, because I really wanted to bag this victory. Now I am delighted!”
Barta covered the 39km in 47:49, 26 seconds faster than Omega Pharma-QuickStep's Zdenek Stybar. And that despite a mechanical problem during the race. The chain came off when he hit a bump. “I had to get off quickly and put the chain back on by hand. This took about 15 seconds.”'
Another difficulty he faced was the recovery from the Giro d'Italia, his first three-week tour. “After a grand tour it is very difficult to say how much training and how much regeneration is necessary in order to be perfectly prepared for the championship.” But he was glad to have found “just the right mix.”
