92nd Giro d'Italia - Stage 21 Interviews
Denis Menchov, Danilo Di Luca and Stefano Garzelli comments after
the stage finish.
Denis Menchov ... really didn't complain much about losing the stage
to Konovalovas. He could have taken some solace in winning the Giro d'Italia
2009 overall, couldn't he?
"This is by far the most important victory in my career. I'm so happy. I want
to thank the Giro organizers who made this possible. Both times I attended the
event, I found this a very, very nice race, that helped me become a better
rider" the Russian said "I kept calm when I fell. I knew that I was leading (Di
Luca) by thirty seconds or so, and all I had to do was grab another bike and
continue".
Danilo Di Luca was smiling and satisfied despite failing to steal the
jersey from Menchov's shoulders
"To win the overall after he went down like that wouldn't have been fair. He
won the race in spite of that fall, and he was even about to win the stage. So I
just can't do anything else but congratulate him. The best rider won. This
second place performance helped me win many more fans than I had before, and
that's the best thing about it. I won for the people of my region Abruzzo. I
sent them a message, that they should never give up. I didn't give up today
either: I gave it everything I could since the start of the stage, I chose an
"average" bike because I knew that there were chances of rain today".
And again: "at this Giro I got back what they took away from me in the last
two years, but I wouldn't call this a starting point of my career, because I've
won a lot already. Only few riders in the current peloton have gotten as many
victories as I have, so I just want to keep going my way. I think I can do fine
for at least three-four more seasons. I'm serene and as aware of my strength as
I've always been. I think Ivan, who was back to the races after two years, did a
great Giro, and I'm sure he'll win a top stage race again. Perhaps it was wrong
to pick him as number one suspect to win this year; but that wasn't his own
mistake, it was an error others made".
Stefano Garzelli: The race finish has been just incredible. I was
standing near Di Luca and neither of us could believe what was happening. I
think that Denis Menchov proved that he's the strongest rider today, he would
have also won the ITT without that accident. Kudos to him. And kudos to Danilo.
Kudos to those two great riders who contested this spectacular race from
beginning to end.
I think I had a good Giro, the Alpe di Siusi stage aside. I tried to give it
everything, sometimes even spending a bit too much energy. To bring the green
jersey home is an outstanding accomplishment for a small team like ours, that
was at the race only as we awarded a wild card by the RCS organizers, whom we
are thankful to. I think we paid tribute to the race in every possible way".
more to come...
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