Dario Cioni reveals new Giro d'Italia goals
Last Updated: 20/05/16 12:26am
Sport Director Dario Cioni insists there is still plenty for Team Sky to fight for at the Giro d'Italia.
Sport Director Dario Cioni insists there is still plenty for Team Sky to fight for at the Giro d'Italia and that his riders will now focus on fresh objectives.
The squad has been dealt two big blows over the last four days with star sprinter Elia Viviani missing the time cut on Saturday while GC hopeful Mikel Landa was forced to abandon the race on Tuesday with suspected viral gastroenteritis.
Seven riders remain however and Cioni is confident that the team can achieve success in the 10 stages to come.
"Today is a new day and we have to look forward," he said. "Obviously, our goal coming into the race was to win the general classification with Mikel [Landa], so with him pulling out we've had to change our tactics and seek out new goals. We'll go for stage wins now.
"We have some good climbers here so we'll try to get in some breakaways and see what happens. We have a good selection of riders for that, and also some strong guys on the flats. There's still plenty to ride for."
Sebastian Henao also sits fourth in the young rider classification, 11 minutes and 57 seconds down on leader Bob Jungels, and while Cioni admits it will be hard to overhaul such a deficit, he is set to support the Colombian's bid for the Maglia Bianca.
Henao impressed everyone with his performance on stage 10, remaining in a peloton of just 16 riders who navigated the two tough late climbs before the summit finish in Sestola.
"We'll do what we can for Sebastian and try and get him as far up the standings in the young rider classification," he added.
"He's not in an ideal scenario at the moment, being almost 12 minutes down on Jungels, but he showed on Tuesday he has good legs so it's definitely a worthwhile objective.
"The high mountains are where he is at his strongest and if he manages to get himself in a break that stays the distance, that could change how things stand."
