Jan Barta (Team NetApp) finished second on the stage
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Fourth individual win for NetApp rider in 2012
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.”
The 27-year-old won the individual time trial at the Settimana Coppi e Bartoli in March, on his way to the overall title. Shortly thereafter he won Rund um Köln, and also took second on the 14th stage of the Giro d’Italia.
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