Saturday, May 06, 2006
Savoldelli's Strong Start
Defending champ Paolo Savoldelli won the short Giro prologue in Belgium in commanding fashion. Il Falco needed only 6.2 kms to take more than 20 seconds out of his main rivals for the maglia rosa. The second prologue won in impressive fashion within a week, perhaps the more impressive this time out as it follows quickly on the heels of the virus infection that prompted his withdrawal from the Tour de Romandie.
Still, Savoldelli would seem to have his work cut out for him in this year’s Giro, and likely still figures as a second-best favorite. The realm of the five-star protagonists is more the realm of the pure climbers such as Gilberto Simoni, Damiano Cunego, and last year’s surprise discovery, Jose Rujano. The cream of the crop is still likely Ivan Basso, who combines climbing finesse with a decent race against the clock.
Danilo DiLuca is also aiming for the final podium, and his approach to this race should see an appreciable increase in his chances of success. Unlike last year where the realization that riding through to the end would cement his overall ProTour win, DiLuca will not be going for stage wins in the first half of the race. Rather he’ll conserve his energy for mountains, and should make him into a credible overall threat.
But the mountains will likely hold the less-than-pur climbers a step behind. The profile of the race will likely do them in – not because of any objective increase in the difficulty of the race (where the overall climbing is roughly the same as last year). Instead it will be the timing that is the critical factor. The four most critical stages follow one after the other in the final week, unlike last year where there was an opportunity to recover between the mammoth stages.
And in keeping with tradition, the organizer’s have unveiled another of the sick climbs that have become the hallmark of the Tour of Italy. “Right here,” Damiano Cunego indicated when checking out the latest unpaved monstrosity of the Plan de Corones, “is where the Giro will be lost.” With a grade reaching 24%, the 17 km long climb on the road to Kronplatz will be the main battle ground for the maglia rosa. It is difficult to predict exactly who will emerge from the trenches unscathed, but one thing seems certain – again this year the Giro will be serving up the most dramatic of the battles among the three grand tours.
Still, Savoldelli would seem to have his work cut out for him in this year’s Giro, and likely still figures as a second-best favorite. The realm of the five-star protagonists is more the realm of the pure climbers such as Gilberto Simoni, Damiano Cunego, and last year’s surprise discovery, Jose Rujano. The cream of the crop is still likely Ivan Basso, who combines climbing finesse with a decent race against the clock.
Danilo DiLuca is also aiming for the final podium, and his approach to this race should see an appreciable increase in his chances of success. Unlike last year where the realization that riding through to the end would cement his overall ProTour win, DiLuca will not be going for stage wins in the first half of the race. Rather he’ll conserve his energy for mountains, and should make him into a credible overall threat.
But the mountains will likely hold the less-than-pur climbers a step behind. The profile of the race will likely do them in – not because of any objective increase in the difficulty of the race (where the overall climbing is roughly the same as last year). Instead it will be the timing that is the critical factor. The four most critical stages follow one after the other in the final week, unlike last year where there was an opportunity to recover between the mammoth stages.
And in keeping with tradition, the organizer’s have unveiled another of the sick climbs that have become the hallmark of the Tour of Italy. “Right here,” Damiano Cunego indicated when checking out the latest unpaved monstrosity of the Plan de Corones, “is where the Giro will be lost.” With a grade reaching 24%, the 17 km long climb on the road to Kronplatz will be the main battle ground for the maglia rosa. It is difficult to predict exactly who will emerge from the trenches unscathed, but one thing seems certain – again this year the Giro will be serving up the most dramatic of the battles among the three grand tours.
