Sandell satisfied

Sandell, who claimed his first stage victory in the IRC on the gravel event, had hoped his greater knowledge of competing on loose-surface stages would have enabled him to challenge for a podium finish on the event. However, a number of factors held him back.

“I wasn’t always trusting the pacenotes in the conditions because I was missing the experience of this event,” said Sandell.

“The set-up wasn’t always right, I had a one-minute penalty and I was first on the road on day two so when you look at those things fifth is okay. For sure I would have liked to have been higher up but it’s not easy for a small team like us to be on the same level as the others so soon.”