lunedì 17 ottobre 2011

"What I did was the only scenario in which I could win the race" The first victory of the last man...

...in the last race of the year! Well you got lots of money if you beted on Oliver Zaugg. "Just under 10km to go. Fuglsang attacks!... No it's Zaugg, the Swiss rider of Leopard": these tweets by The Inner Ring say all. Can a good old helper win Lombardia? of course when more qualificated guys lose it. Vincenzo Nibali attacked too early: why? he was probably worried about Gilbert. But Gilbert was tired: couldn't follow and even spent too much to be competitive at the finish. As well as Fuglsang: he could win it, Nibali forced him to chasse and on the final climb Zaugg was fresher. In my opinion - but I was there so didn't 'watched' it - Nìbali, Fuglsang and some other 'favourites' at the start would have had a chance going away on the Ghisallo in a small group and deciding the victory on the last climb - or at the sprint. However Nibali strongly wanted to go away solo and that IMO was his mistake: he never turned back. By the other hand Gilbert didn't win probably because Nibali's move made him exhausted: waiting for that one would have been stupid. 
Zaugg looked good in all the Italian classics. Lets see what he said:
“I have always been a helper during my career. Ever since I started racing, my job has been to help my captains. The team believed that my condition was good, and they gave me a chance today. They designated Jakob [Fuglsang] and me as captains together. I am incredibly grateful that the team gave me a shot in a race like Lombardy. I was calm when Jakob went away. I knew that I needed to stay calm, focused and wait for my chance. I had a plan to time my attack on the final climb like I did. I knew this was my best hope for victory. When Jakob went, that was his chance, and I would wait for mine. I knew that I was in good shape. I remained calm with Nibali off the front. I proved at Beghelli that I had the form. A tactical error cost me the result. It happens often for me that my best form comes at the end of the season. I always come out of the Vuelta really fresh. I knew I could do something here today. I had my attack in mind all week. I simply had to bide my time. [My attack] worked out very well. I got a gap right away. My hope had been that I would attack solo and hold off the others all the way to the finish. I don’t have a sprint. I’m not a big guy. What I did was the only scenario in which I could win the race. The way things played out was exactly what I had planned. My radio didn’t work, so after my attack I had no clear view on the gap. I knew I could only go full gas and hope they wouldn’t catch me back, so that’s what I did. I controlled my bike on the six kilometers downhill and then I went all out on the three kilometers of flat road to the finish. I had no idea what my gap was as I headed to the line. I have had many colleagues and friends believe that I had a big win in my legs. I need to thank them for their support. This is a huge, happy day for me.”
To remark a very good race by Pozzovivo and the confirmation of a great season by Daniel Martin.
I'm working on my pics and stories: you'll have a reportage quite soon :)
Results
1 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Leopard - Trek 6:20:02
2 Daniel Martin (Irl) Team Garmin - Cervelo 0:00:08
3 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team
4 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale
5 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre - ISD
6 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox
7 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli 0:00:16
8 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma - Lotto
9 Carlos A. Betancur Gomez (Col) Acqua & Sapone
10 Riccardo Chiarini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - C.I.P.I.
11 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 0:00:27
12 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
13 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quickstep Cycling Team
14 Peter Stetina (USA) Team Garmin - Cervelo
15 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
16 Nicholas Roche (Irl) Ag2R La Mondiale
17 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team
18 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) FDJ
19 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling
20 Thomas Lovkvist (Swe) Sky Procycling
21 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team
22 Fabio Felline (Ita) Geox - TMC 0:01:11
23 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
24 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil - DCM Pro C.Team
25 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
26 Rafal Majka (Pol) Saxo Bank Sungard
27 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:01:15
28 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Leopard - Trek
29 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
30 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
31 Federico Canuti (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox
32 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team Radioshack
33 Chris Sorensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard
34 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Team Garmin - Cervelo 0:02:39
35 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale
36 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
37 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:05:30
38 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 0:06:44
39 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard - Trek 0:07:14
40 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale
41 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling
42 Steven Cummings (GBr) Sky Procycling
43 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) HTC - Highroad 0:11:20
44 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Saxo Bank Sungard
45 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Pro Team Astana 0:12:04
46 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Omega Pharma - Lotto 0:12:31
47 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ
48 Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha Team
49 Brian Vandborg (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard
50 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team
51 Bruno Pires (Por) Leopard - Trek
52 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
53 Elia Favilli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
54 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - ISD
55 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana
56 Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Garmin - Cervelo
57 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
58 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
59 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas - Cannondale 0:15:34
60 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Sky Procycling
61 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Saxo Bank Sungard
62 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Team Garmin - Cervelo
63 Francis De Greef (Bel) Omega Pharma - Lotto

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