"Everyone has their own interests". The best cyclist of the Tour of Almaty-2019 about the competition with Astana team and race favorites.

Vino - Astana Motors team cyclist Matvey Nikitin won the best Kazakh cyclist jersey following the results of the first stage of the Tour of Almaty.

Matvey Nikitin showed the second result at the group finish.

- For a very long time, you could not spurn into the lead - what was happening inside the peloton at that time? Who controlled the group?

- There was no control. Because all strong cyclists tried to lead in order to get good score before tomorrow's mountain stage. Because the more you make an advantage on the first day, the easier it will be to win, especially in the general classification, the next day at Medeu.

- Did captains and captain teams control the race?

- Yes, all captain teams controlled the race. Also, you saw that at the end of the race there were three leading cyclists from Astana team. And also Neri Sottoli had a numerical advantage.

- On the last kilometers, it was already felt that the "games" began. It seemed that they earned a gap of 45-50 seconds and that was enough, or did they all work until the end?

- Taking into account that these were already the last five kilometers, it was enough. But some teams pulled, because they expected more for tomorrow than for today. I tried to focus and do my best for today, and I had a numerical minority, so I tried to "survive" to the finish line, so I finished second.

- Which sports predictions do you have for tomorrow?

- First of all, those who spurned into the lead will come to the foreground. Someone will want to have the early lead, who caught the time today to win a separate stage. The general classification will be decided precisely between those who separated from each other. First of all, the riders of “Astana” and Aleksandr Vlasov will be one of the contenders.

- For the first time, Astana is not among the winners at the Tour  of Almaty stage. Can you say that you made a bid to sign a contract with Astana next season?

- So I do not know. It will be decided by the Astana team management. I really hope to improve my level with this second place. I proved that I can be qualified for a place in Astana team.

- There were enough Kazakh cyclists in the lead group. What was not enough to defeat rivals from other teams with joint efforts?

- I mean Vino - Astana Motors, the professional team "Astana" and the national team of Kazakhstan - proved itself as different teams. Outside of the competition, we are friends, but here we are competitors. I am from Vino - Astana Motors and I had not so a big score among the Kazakh lead cyclists. And our team tried to pick up the gap.

- Is it pleasant to beat Astana team?

- Here everyone already has their own interests. They had more work in the lead to have a good score for tomorrow.

- What difficulties have you faced at this stage?

- This year there was a slack wind, and this played a role.

It will be recalled that the first stage due to the photo finish was won by

Patryk Stosz from the Polish CCC Development Team. The winner of the Tour  of Almaty 2019 will be determined based on the results of two days. Tomorrow, August 31, the race will return to the route that has already become its visiting card - a 160-kilometer track with a finish at Medeu.