92nd Giro d'Italia - Team & Rider Comments
"I was never worried." Denis Menchov, David Arroyo, Marzio Bruseghin, David Arroyo, Fuji/Servetto's Stefano Zanini, Barloworld's Claudio Corti, Cervélo's Konovalovas & Jean-Paul Van Poppel, Lawrence Biondi  of Ag2r la Mondiale comment on their participation in the 2009 Giro...

A very calm Denis Menchov on the podium to receive his first pink jersey.
Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

Denis Menchov
'I was never worried'
Denis Menchov was confident at the start of his time trial; and he was the same a few hours after his great triumph. Denis just finished it all unceremoniously. After receiving his maglia rosa from Italian President Napolitano and a moment to refresh at the hotel he was off to a nice evening meal with the team.  The time was right to get his reactions to the days events with the adrenaline gone, Denis was suddenly quiet and reserved again, the man most of us are familiar with.  of his body. The words he chose were clear,  "I was upset when? Nope, my confidence was high and I knew I had enough time."

When asked how he felt after the day he replied, "I feel very relaxed. The job is done. I look forward to a couple of weeks rest and then await my next assignment. It took a while for my emotions to calm down. I was very happy to win this Giro; it was like the very first time I won."

The first time?But, this is the third major tour you have won?
"Yes the two Vuelta's there; but this is truly a very special tour. In this occupation, if you win, you never forget it. So the Giro for me has a special feeling, I'm very happy. This was a long race. I have another thought too, Lance Armstrong for the first time in ten years was beaten in a major tour...  Yeah (Denis laughed deeply) and that's another special factor in this tour. This Giro holds a special place for me, and it is now my best victory. "

Everyone was shocked when you crashed.
"I was in a trance and had no time to think. It shot through my head that I should remain calm. Erik Breukink had just told me the my time difference with Di Luca was very big. When I stood next to my bike, I knew I still had time; I wanted to take the bike that was on the ground, but then Vincent was suddenly beside me with a new bike. The fastest bike change ever."

Di Luca tried to put you under pressure.
"That I knew already. When I saw his bike, he opted for a simple bike with normal handlebars. Then I saw how he started like a rocket. I was counting on making time on him in the long straight stretches which would be the way to win. In the beginning I was taking risks, but Breukink called out when I was fifteen seconds ahead saying that I could be a bit calmer about it. Take the curves gently, then attack at full gas. And then you fall on a straight section. ...... Pffff "
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Ignatas Konovalovas smiles from the stage 21 podium.  Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

Cervélo TestTeam
Konovalovas Takes 4th Team Win!
Ignatas Konovalovas won Stage 21 of Giro today in an exciting finish to the centenary Giro which saw the maglia rosa leader Denis Menchov fall within the last kilometer on the rain slicked finish. Menchov was able to recover and finish to win this year's edition of the Giro d'Italia. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin - Slipstream) was 1 second behind Konovalovas and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Columbia - Highroad) came in third seven seconds off the pace set by Konovalovas. In the final General Classification, Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini) retained his second place and Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) held onto his third place podium position. Carlos Sastre finished in 4th place 1'47" down from Pellizotti.

"I had great motivation from the team and from Carlos", an elated Ignatas Konovalovas said, "Thomas Campana, who was in the car, was pushing me all the way. I am sure now I can say I couldn't do better."

"Fantastic!", Cervélo TestTeam sports director Jean-Paul Van Poppel said. "This is an exceptional team! I told the boys at the beginning of the Giro that maybe they don't realize that they think it is a normal situation but the more experienced riders know this is an exception. That there is something magic in this team. It is really beautiful.

"It was great to see young riders along with long time professionals perform so well on this team. It is a fantastic group and we work well as a team getting extremely good results from that team work. It makes us really successful. Not only the riders, also the staff, no exceptions. We have everything the best, the best material, the best staff on board, the best clothes."

"I don't have enough words for it. It is really fantastic, four stage wins, fourth in the GC."

Tadej Valjavec - Stage 12 time trial.  Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

Ag2r la Mondiale
Tadej Valjavec 9th -
Although without a stage win, but with many places of honor and especially a Top 10 for Tadej Valjavec the formation of Vincent Lavenu returned from the Tour of Italy with great satisfaction.

First, the 9th place Valjavec, who fought hard in this Giro and achieved his objective. He remained in contact with the best in the decisive stages with 7th and 8th places in the mountains. The Slovenian finished the Giro with very good performance against the clock  that enabled him to retain a 15 seconds ahead of Bruseghin to finish in 9th place. Sébastien Hinault also held his position by taking 5th place twice  in the final sprints.

Ag2r's Yuriy Krivtsov on the right leads the escape with Katusha's Mikhail Ignatiev, Giuseppe Palumbo and Mauro Facci on stage 3. Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

From a more general note the beautiful state of mind that led the team Ag2r la Mondiale  throughout this Giro. Yuriy Krivtsov, Renaud Dion, and Guillaume Bonnafond were regularly present in the escapes while Blaise Sonnery and Alexander Efimkin did their utmost to assist Tadej Valjavec in the mountains.

Marking their aggressive riding in the breaks, Yuriy Krivtsov finished second in the Trofeo Fuga breaks competition while Guillaume Bonnafond finished sixth. Sonnery and Bonnafond both finished in the top 20 in the Maglia Bianca competition for young riders.

These three weeks have served to highlight the talent of Guillaume Bonnafond, present in three short-long escapes. The neo pro, was called up in the last minute for the Giro, he showed a strong capacity and real talent. By keeping this mindset, in the future, there is no doubt that Guillaume  will soon win great victories.

Lawrence Biondi, sports director at the Giro, takes stock of these three weeks of racing for the team Ag2r la Mondiale:

"The balance of the team performance is good. Overall, we were active and we tried things with our resources. In any event, the riders fought well. The goal of entering the top ten of the general classification was accomplished with the 9th place of Tadej Valjavec. The little disappointment is the lack of a stage victory; but we managed to escape in six long breaks to take beautiful places of honor. And then we saw later, that only seven teams  managed to take stage wins. In the end, I returned really satisfied with this Giro."

Lampre/NGC
Marzio Bruseghin 10th
 A good performance by Bruseghin in the final time trial in Rome ended the Giro d'Italia 2009 for Lampre/NGC. The Blue-fucsia cyclist recorded the 5th  best time, 16 seconds off winner Konovalovas; good time trials also by Mori, 38th at 1'04", and by Cunego, 48th at 1'11".

"I'm satisfied by the way I rode on this beautiful route." Bruseghin explained, then added, "My only regrets is not having found the wind that was pushing from behind in the early part of the day".

His Rome performance didn't allow Bruseghin to climb the classification: his final place is the 10th at 11'28" to the pink jersey Menchov (only 15" to Valjavec, 9th), while Cunego is 19th, Tiralongo 38th, Marzano 51st, Gasparotto 60th, Gavazzi 69th, Da Dalto 120th and Bono 123rd. 

In the team standings, Lampre-NGC obtained the 5th place in the time classification, the 6th place in the points standing.

Caisse d'Epargne
David Arroyo 11th in Giro d'Italia
David Arroyo, finished the 11th of the final general classification of the Tour of Italy which finished today in Rome. The athlete from Talavera de la Reina, who was very regular during the three weeks, did not disappoint his team. On the contrary.

“Even if my team Caisse d’Epargne was not able to win a stage in this « Giro del Centenario, we gave it all to do it and I believe that we must be happy because we were everyday present in the front of the race”, explained David Arroyo after he took 50th place in 14.4 km time trial.

“We were unlucky because we lost Fran Pérez, victim of a crash at the very beginning of the race, in stage 4. Some days later it was Joaquím Rodriguez’s turn to go home because his knee was hurting too much and yesterday David López crashed and abandoned too. My personal objective was to finish the race in the top ten and I was not far from making my goal. I believe that it was possible with just a bit more luck and without my puncture in the stage of Monte Petrano. Anyway I am really satisfied and all the more if we look at the names which precede mine in the classification. Almost all of them already finished a Grand Tour on the podium and except Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans and my team-mate Alejandro Valverde, all the best riders of the world were in Italy to try to win the race.”

“This Giro has been a very special one, with historical stages. It was really difficult to break away and the gaps were not important between the first onea in the mountain stages, which were hard ones but at the same time short ones. You needed to be powerful but also explosive. In reality all the stages were very fast ones and none was easy. I tried to take advantage of the rivalries in the mountain but that was not easy at all.”

“Now I will take some rest and come back at the Spanish Championship. I should normally be at the start of the Tour de France next July 4 in Monaco and there I will do again what my role used to be : to help my leaders.”

Team Saxo Bank
Lars Bak 20th After Final Stage of The Giro
Team Saxo Bank's Lars Bak maintained his position as number twenty in the GC after the 14.4 kilometer long time trial in the streets of Rome. In addition, the Danish champion in the discipline managed to pull two fourth places through hard work and aggressive riding throughout the course, where he seized the opportunities that were present for his type of rider in this year's Giro, which was overwhelmingly dominated by mountainous terrain.

Lars Bak on the attack with Chris Froome on stage 16. Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

Despite the somewhat undulating landscape Matthew Goss managed to finish both fourth and fifth on the way to Rome and the younger generation of Team Saxo Bank-riders were also beautifully represented by Kasper Klostergaard and Anders Lund, both of which have been present in the showcase which the Giro can be in their case.

“I am very happy about the last three weeks of racing and I'll like to use this opportunity to say thanks to everyone on the staff who made things easier and pleasant for the riders and for me as a sports director. This was my first long stage race on the job and I have deep respect for the riders who go through a lot throughout a race like this. We were here to win a stage and we saw Kasper Klostergaard, Anders Lund and Jens Voigt trying to slip away in breaks to achieve our goal. Lars Bak kept trying to improve his position in the GC throughout the race and he shows great attitude as a professional rider. But it was not easy to win a stage in this edition of the race without grimpeurs. Instead we witnessed a bunch of young and prosperous riders like Matthew Goss who still needs experience in mass sprints but in the future he will be able to win stages in races like this”, said Torsten Schmidt after the final stage of Giro d'Italia.

Fuji/Servetto
D.S. Stefano Zanini "The Overview is Positive"
Stefano Zanini, the directeur sportif of the team considers the race can be valued as positive, as the whole team showed combative manners in the Centenary edition of the Giro, won by Menchov. Fuji/Servetto completed their first ever participation in a big stage race with combative manners and usual presences in the escapes. Unfortunately, the team directed by Stefano Zanini could not shine in the general classification with their team leader, Sweden’s Fredrik Kessiakoff, who went down in his effort after two stages keeping the pace with the favourites to finally lose his chances at the Monte Petrano. Zanini commented on the team’s performance during the three weeks of racing:

Overview:
"Seriously, I’m pretty satisfied with the riders’ behavior during the race, so I think the general overview is positive. I’ve found a real group within these guys, always together and showing great teamwork. We came here with the aim to take stage wins by digging into the breakaways, and even though we did not succeed, we accomplished our objectives since we were in almost all escapes. We knew Capecchi was a little bit short of form to fight for the GC, so our chance to get into the best was Kessiakoff.”

Kessiakoff:
"I think Fredrik has delivered a great result at the Giro. He was with the strongest in the first week, and was able to place 10th at the Alpe di Siusi, ahead of riders like Pellizotti, Simoni and Garzelli. I think that’s pretty good for a lad who’s doing his first season on road riding and faces a grand tour like this for the first time. The only thing that was left is the ability to recover from such a bummer after losing his chances at the Petrano’s stage. He unleashed the stress that such a race causes on you. Keeping himself with the GC riders, fighting for the position in the bunch over and over… those are thing he’d never experienced. There’s stress in a short stage race, but a GT makes everything bigger. After that, he never showed the same fitness nor morale level. That’s something he’s to learn from, and it’ll bring him experience for the future.”

Bad luck:
"We didn’t have any good luck with the injuries either. Capecchi had just experienced many troubles after País Vasco, and had to give up the race with a tendonitis in his knee. But the biggest disappointment was Serrano’s. We all were convinced, even more myself, that Ritxi was going to win a stage in this Giro. He came here in great condition, but the allergy gave him a problem he could not overcome, and his health was horrible when he stepped off the bike. It’s been a pity. On the other hand, Vigano has done a great race, with good breakaways and some satisfying sprints. Also, Hector González has shown what he’s made of. He’s left the race with some moments of brilliance, and this experience will be useful for him in the future, since he’s going to note the stamina a 3-week race gives you”.

"I’ve raced the Giro in so many times, and I know it is hard, but this time we went over three monster stages in the Bologna routes during the second week of racing. Besides, the massive heat we’ve suffered during the race made the race more selective. One point made our performance here more positive: the largestarting field, there wasn’t anyone left out: Menchov, Leipheimer, Sastre, Armstrong… and all the Italians. It’s been a race with an incredible field, and so the Fuji/Servetto team's appearance shows a good value, since we could not prepare for the race, but we did not deliver on a lower level than the other teams. We couldn’t make training arrangements for any of our riders, and that must be counted towards the final overview”.

Team Barloworld - Claudio Corti
The hardness of the Giro:
As ever Team Barloworld was also in the thick of the action on ever kind of terrain. South Africa's Robert Hunter went close to victory on two stages, confirming his excellent form this season and showing the determination and competitive spirit that is a natural part of Team Barloworld's way of racing.

Colombia's Mauricio Soler also went close to victory on both stage four to San Martino di Castrozza and on the stage from Cuneo to Pinerolo, and yet again showed he is one of the best climber's in the world. Unfortunately Soler had to pull out of the Giro on Monday during the 16th stage to Monte Petrano due tendonitis in his right calf but he left his mark in the mountains.

Felix Cardenas on the attack in stage 17     Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

Despite losing Soler, the team continued to fight for success and Felix Cardenas went very close to victory in the final week. After a strong ride on the mountain stage to the Blockhaus, he then went on the attack the day after and finished a close second place at the finish in Benevento.

Other Team Barloworld riders also impressed as they chased success, went in breaks and worked to help each other throughout the three weeks of the Giro d'Italia. Chris Froome was fourth on the uphill finish at San Luca near Bologna after being in the breakaway of the day and the other riders have been part of attacks on most stages.

"We went really close to victory several times during the Giro and I'm satisfied with our performance in the Giro," Team manager Claudio Corti said. "It was a pity that Soler retired in the mountains because he could have got some big results even if there weren't many big mountain stages in this year's Giro."

"It's been a special race because it's the centenary edition of the Giro. It was a more modern race and aggressively fought, as the record average speed confirms. The huge crowds and media interest for the Giro has confirmed the success of the race yet again."

Team Barloworld started the Giro d'Italia with a strong and united team that included Bellotti, Cheula, Caccia, Longo Borghini, Hunter, Froome and Augustyn. They perfectly represent the values of Team Barloworld: conviction, excellence, team spirit and integrity.

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