Astana's Valgren happy with his performance in Binck Bank Tour Stage 2

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - An Individual Time Trial at the Binck Bank Tour today, a day for the TT specialists as well for GC contenders to make a difference. Michael Valgren was able to keep up with other contenders for the general classification, finishing in a time of 14'53". Stefan Kung (14'11") was by far the fastest rider of the day and is the new leader of the Binck Bank Tour, Kazinform has learnt from the club's official press service.

"I'm quite happy with my performance, I did my best. I didn't lose too much time on the GC favorites, so that's good. It was the first time I really gave it all after the Tour de France, and it was a good sensation. After the Tour I didn't do that much on my bike, so I think I will get better day by day as I get back in shape. I think we have a good team here that could perform well in the stages yet to come. I think it will be a good week," Michael Valgren.

On the 12.7-kilometer-long ITT in the Dutch city of Venray, Stefan Kung was by far the fastest rider of the pack, finishing 14 seconds in front of European champion Victor Campenaerts, who finished second. Most of the Astana riders used the ITT to recover, like Magnus Cort who raced at the European Championships on Sunday and crashed yesterday at stage 1 of the Binck Bank Tour. Michael Valgren, working for a good overall classification, finished 35th in a time of 14'53". Not far behind some of the GC favorites for this Binck Bank Tour.

Stage 3 will be another sprint stage after yesterday's stage 1, but this time on Belgium soil after two days of racing in The Netherlands. The riders will ride on a flat 174.9 kilometers from Aalter to Antwerp.