By Shane Stokes in León
"Overall as a team we had a really good day yesterday," the tall Canadian said. "At the bottom of the last climb there were 60 guys and the whole team was still in the front. Janez [Brajkovic] did surprisingly well. Tom maybe didn't go as well as he might have expected, but it was the first day in the mountains and there is a lot of racing to do yet. He didn't lose that much time, and he can get that back.
"He is definitely more confident in himself than last year. He gained a lot of experience by doing so well in the race last year and being up the front the whole time. Also, I think doing the Giro with Paolo [Savoldelli] this year also helped him out a lot. He has a year more experience, he is a year stronger as well.
"I didn't race much with him in the run up to the Vuelta but he told me he was feeling good in training and he did a good race in the Tour de l'Ain, helping Triki (Manuel Beltrán) out a lot there. He seems confident, a lot more confident coming into the Vuelta this year. So overall he is doing well and I think it is looking good for him as regards a strong performance here."
