By Jan Janssens
Even though the Quickstep team operates
on a Belgian license its character is very much international, building on the
legacy of the famed Mapei with some 8 different nationalities represented in the
team. And when we say Mapei we also say ‘Italian,’ and indeed, the Italian
connection at Quickstep is very outspoken with a strong presence in both riders
and staff. And unsurprisingly, 5 out of 9 riders in their selection for this
year’s Giro are Italian!
Leading their team is one of the finest
classic racers of the last 10 years, Paolo Bettini, looking to make up
for his spring. The Olympic Champion missed out on most of the spring classics
because of an illness, but Bettini proved in Liège that he doesn’t need a lot of
time to get in shape with a nice 4th place in one of the toughest
races of the year. And we’ll be in for a treat if all that really was –according
to him - meant as a build-up for the Giro! However, Bettini lacks the real good
stuff when it comes to climbing on great height, so aiming for a top 5 ranking
or something like that is probably out of reach for Il Grillo. But what
he lacks on the real high climbs, Bettini makes up for in the medium-sized ones:
a quick glance at the altimetry tells us that the first week has two stages of
climbing to average heights…so his sprinting capacities coupled to his climbing
skills could very well land him in the Maglia Rosa for a few days.
Something I believe he will be aiming for in the first part of this Giro,
together with a few stage wins.
Quickstep has provided the man from La
California with some pretty good assistance to conquer the Italian roads. First
on the list is Italian champion Cristian Moreni, on a similar mission to Bettini: attempting to make up for a lost spring after crashing badly in that
other Italian race, Milan Sanremo. He’s pretty much like his team leader in
that he’s a good climber, but not one of the best. But no doubt he’ll do
everything within his power to show off his national jersey to the tifosi!
Another one of the mountain minions is José Antonio Garrido, but
it’s hard to judge his qualities. He came to Quickstep along with (and at the
request of) Pecharroman, and now seems to be favoured over his former race
leader by Lefevere to assist Bettini. Like I said, it’s really hard to make an
assessment of him as he’s shown virtually nothing in the 2 years he’s been at
Quickstep. The best indication of his form was a 64th place in the
final ranking of the Tour de Romandie.
Continuing the storyline of Italians with
a failed spring, we bring you: Filippo Pipo Pozzato. Unlike
Bettini and Moreni he was alive and riding, he just wasn’t doing it as well as
he was expected to, save for an outburst of talent at Paris-Roubaix. His manager Lefevere has shown some discontent over Pozatto’s performances during spring and
now expects him to make up for it at the Giro. Pozzato is a super-talent, always
has been, and left Fassa Bortolo to get away from the iron chokehold that the
Petacchi-effect put over the team, so expect him to try and make the Fassas look
bad at every occasion he gets.
Apart from all these classy, flashy
riders the B&B (Bettini & Boonen) team are also packing a few straight-up work
horses: the ever present Davide Bramati was one of the few Italian
Quickstep riders that actually made the team a few times this spring. With his
crazy experience Bramati is the perfect man to guide some of the younger riders
of this team through the wasp’s nest that the Giro can be. Especially Mads
Christensen, who immediately gets served the first big stage race of the
season in his first year as a pro! Christensen is barely 20 years old and, while
not a Thomas Dekker, he has shown that he can climb and has the stuff to become
a very good rider. But it’s always hard to say which young talented riders will
cut it as a pro and who won’t, regardless of their talent, so let’s just see
what this Giro will bring for him. Relatively young Dutchman Addy Engels
will be ready to roll up his sleeves for Bettini and Zanini when they ask him
too, and while he’s at it he can gain some valuable experience and strength in
this race.
It’s a bit vague why Tom Boonen’s
personal lead-out man Stefano Zanini is making an appearance on the Giro
team, apart from the obvious fact that he’s Italian. A good sprinter, but not
fast enough to trouble the herd of sprinters that has chosen Petacchi-land to
strut their stuff. I assume he will try to help Bettini take bonus seconds
wherever he can in the sprint, as it’s hard to imagine Stefano setting pace in
the mountains.
Last but not least is coming man and only Belgian on the team,
Nick Nuyens. Now that he graduated he’ll be able to put all his efforts into
his professional cycling career, without having to take a break to study for a
few months each season. He’s shown that he’s capable of winning semi-classics
like Het Volk, but it remains to be seen if he can be a factor at a race like
the Giro. Expect to see him in a break or two, or working for Bettini if it’s
necessary.
Overall it’s a strange but solid team
that the Floorboys are sending to Italy: no real sprinters, no real climbers, no
real GC favourites; but a damn fine team of all-rounders. Unfortunately it’s
been ages since an all-rounder (Jalabert) could win on one of three big stage
races, and it doesn’t look like any of these riders will change that. But a
Bettini knows his own shortcomings and will probably try to dynamite the race on
places that no one expects it, no doubt making for spectacular transition
stages!
Quickstep-Innergetic for the Giro d'Italia
Paolo Bettini (Ita)
Filippo Pozzato (Ita)
Cristian Moreni (Ita)
Stefano Zanini (Ita)
Davide Bramati (Ita)
José Antonio Garrido (Spa)
Addy Engels (Hol)
Nick Nuyens (Bel)
Mads Christensen (Dan)
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