Team CSC's Nicki Sørensen took the biggest victory in his professional career by winning the tough 18th stage of the Vuelta a España. Sørensen was part of a large breakaway group which crumbled in the finale. The Danish rider beat Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Comunidad Valenciana) in the uphill sprint in Carlos Sastre's hometown of Avila.
"It's fantastic to win such a big stage," a happy Nicki Sørensen was quoted on the Team CSC website. "I've felt great for quite a while now; it's huge to be able to claim a victory like this. It's without a doubt the biggest win in my career up till now. The final was very tactical, at one point I thought it was going to be a bit tricky. But luckily I had some strength left, and when we started the sprint with 250 meters to go I knew I was going to win."
"Nicki has won a beautiful and very prestigious stage and he has every reason to be proud of himself," said sports director Kim Andersen. "Steadily he has improved his form during this race and it's really something to be able to ride this fast in the third and last week of the Vuelta. Right now Carlos Sastre is almost certain of his spot on the final podium, and winning a stage on top of this is just icing on the cake for the whole team."
