The first Grand Tour of the season – the Giro d’Italia – gets under way on Saturday and Team Sky are aiming to impress on several fronts.
Squad feeling good ahead of Grand Tour opener
The first Grand Tour of the cycling season – the Giro d’Italia – gets under way on Saturday and Team Sky are aiming to impress on several fronts.
Thomas Löfkvist has been chosen to lead the general classification charge after finishing as the team’s highest-ranked rider in last year’s Tour de France (in 17th overall), despite spending most of the race working in support of Bradley Wiggins.
The 27-year-old Swede is delighted to have been given the chance to show what he can do and believes consistency will be key to him achieving a decent position.
He told the team’s
official website: “I’m feeling good and looking forward to it. It is my main goal this year, what I’ve been preparing for, and I cannot wait to get started now.
“We are not here to kill the bunch. I think the team has a great opportunity to get a stage victory or two and for myself I hope I can place myself really high up on the GC.”
When the route for this year’s Giro was unveiled, many analysts rated it as one of the toughest ever. Over 21 stages the peloton will be forced over 40 categorised climbs and contest seven summit finishes. Where others see danger though, Löfkvist sees opportunity:
“The route is super hard. I think they probably went a bit over the top with it but it is the same for everyone. Everybody has to climb the same mountains.
“It will be important that you use your energy in the right way. You have to minimise the time losses which means you have to be good and consistent all the time.”
Options
Dario Cioni is one of the eight riders who have been picked to help Löfkvist along the way. The Italian knows his home race better than most having completed it eight times before and last year he was Team Sky’s best-placed finisher in 17th overall.
The 36-year-old has been impressed by Löfkvist’s form in the weeks leading up to the race but revealed Team Sky won’t be pinning all their hopes on him.
He said: “Thomas is a worthy GC leader and I’ll be there to support him in the mountains. He rode well at Tirreno-Adriatico, looked solid at Fleche Wallonne, and will be ready to go again at the Giro, I’m sure.
“He has ridden this race a few times before so he has some experience of it and has held both the pink and white jerseys in the past. He can climb really well and I’m confident he will be right up there in the standings.
“We’re not putting all our eggs in one basket though because the other guys in this team are all capable of springing a surprise.
“Davide Appollonio and Russell Downing are both strong sprinters who’ll give us options on the flatter stages, while Lars-Petter Nordhaug and Morris Possoni can also climb and will hopefully get the chance to prove themselves in the mountains.
“The other guys are all seasoned all-rounders and if they manage to get in a break which stays away, anything is possible.”
Reward
Downing’s inclusion in the squad has pleased many British fans who regard his call-up is just reward for over a decade spent toiling away on the domestic and pro-continental scenes.
The 32-year-old Yorkshireman also regards his call-up as a huge honour and will realise a lifetime’s ambition when he rolls down the start ramp near Turin.
He said: “I’m really excited but also a little daunted given that I’ve never ridden anything this long before. The fact that it’s also one of the toughest Grand Tours ever won’t ease the nerves either (laughs).
“It’s been a long time coming in terms of my career, and although I missed out on riding a Grand Tour last year, I’ve got no complaints because I still got my chance to show what I could do at races like the Criterium International and Tour of Wallonie.
“I’m grateful to have made the line-up this time around though, and hopefully I can put on a good show.
“On the sprint stages both myself and Davide will chat about who’s feeling freshest on the day, and then we’ll make a decision from there.
“A few of the transitional stages might also suit me as well though because I tend to do alright on short, sharp finishes which might not be right for the purer sprinters in the bunch.”
As senior sports director, Sean Yates had a leading role in determining the nine-man team and believes the Giro will offer the perfect chance for his riders to show what they are capable of.
He said: “It will be a great experience for these guys and definitely make them stronger as a result. We’ve picked a good group of riders, with a nice blend of youth and experience, and we know they will get stuck in and fight for each other.”
Full-length interviews from all the above and more can be found in the Giro d’Italia Race Hub on TeamSky.com by clicking
HERE, and fans can also check out a stage-by-stage guide to the race by clicking
HERE.
