Russell Downing is looking forward to making his long-awaited Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia.
Sprinter set to achieve career milestone
Russell Downing is looking forward to making his long-awaited Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia this month, even if he admits he will be riding somewhat into the unknown.
The Yorkshireman has been given his chance to shine after proving himself again as one of Team Sky’s most consistent performers, and although a victory has so far eluded him in 2011, he has worked tirelessly for the team and also earned himself podium positions on stages at both the Vueltas a Murcia and Castilla y Leon.
Many cycling fans will regard his call-up is just reward for over a decade spent toiling away on the domestic and pro-continental scenes, and the man himself cannot wait to achieve a lifetime’s ambition.
He told us: “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.”
In the mix
Downing goes into the race as one of two recognised sprinters in Team Sky’s nine-man squad and is relishing the prospect of pitting his wits against the best in the business.
He added: “As a bike rider that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do and I’m certainly looking forward to it.
“On the sprint stages both myself and Davide [Appollonio] 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.
“Most of the race is going to be about survival though because it’s such a tough parcours. I’ve got to admit, I’ve not really checked out the mountains stages yet because I didn’t want to get myself down (laughs) but I will do before the start of the race and then just take things a day at a time.”
Looking good
Those mountains aside, the 32-year-old’s confidence is high after his encouraging display at Castilla y Leon and feels he could be coming into form at just the right time:
“I’m really pleased with the way things went in Spain. I was able to mix it up in a few of the early sprints and also did my bit to get Ben [Swift] his victory on the final stage.
“Since then I’ve keeping things ticking over nicely back home in Britain. The week after I got back I took things relatively easy but I’ve stepped up my training in the time since then and am feeling really good now.”
Downing also believes his team-mates have what it takes to mount a solid campaign in Italy, and knows Thomas Löfkvist will be giving it his all to finish as high up the general classification as possible.
He concluded: “There’s a good mix of youth and experience in the line-up we have here and it’ll be interesting to see how we get on.
“Thomas certainly seems to be coming into a bit of form. He produced some good climbing displays at the Ruta del Sol and Tirreno-Adriatico and also put in a good dig for the team at La Fleche Wallonne.
“This is also a race he knows pretty well and he’s really motivated to perform – we all are.”
