We came to the Giro d'Italia with big expectations, even if Rigo was sick after the Tour de Romandie. We thought we could do in any case a good Giro, because normally in the first week stages in past years favored a long breakaway or the race wasn't so nervous. The rhythm of the race was high pace from the start this year. There was an immediate fight between the level of Contador and the level of Astana. This put Rigo immediately in difficulties, because Rigo was taking antibiotics at the time, and he couldn't recover.
Photo: Tim De Waele
But we were still fighting. Our goal was to try to arrive at the time trial with a reasonable gap for the pink jersey. I think we made it. Considering the situation of Rigo with the bronchitis and the crash in Imola, until that moment it was kind of a miracle to be there. We lost two riders immediately from crashes, for example. Even the day before the time trial and the time trial itself, it was heavy rain every day and it didn't help Rigo to improve his condition.
But after the TT we decided to wait until Madonna Di Campiglio to decide if Rigo was able to keep pursuing the high placing in the GC or not. But Rigo had a really difficult day. It was a long way to the finish for him. He was without any energy after the TT and he lost a lot of minutes. At that point we decided to switch our tactic. I think as a team and staff we were able to keep the riders motivated, and we changed completely our strategy. We went into breakaways with Keisse in the Lugano stage, De La Cruz the day of Verbania, and then in the last two big mountain stages Rigo put in a great performances both days for us. It was important to show we were alive and that Rigo could have been one of the race contenders without physical problems. Beating a guy like Contador isn't easy. You have to be 110% to beat a guy like him. But a high place in the GC would have been something possible for Rigo with better health. It was a pleasure to see him on Friday and Saturday fighting to go for the stage, but of course in the high mountains you can go full gas, but at the end, when the race is controlled, it's always the guy with the best condition who wins. The guy with the best condition was Aru. But, we were happy with how Rigo performed.
Photo: BrakeThrough Media
On Saturday night before the last stage we had dinner together at the team hotel. It was there we started thinking about the stage on Sunday. Probably people think were a bit crazy, but there was a plan to try and win this stage with Iljo Keisse. We knew he was motivated with good legs, and on a tricky circuit with a few corners he could play a role. The goal was to attack in the last lap or last corners together with Iljo and Fabio Sabatini. But Iljo decided to go before, and it worked out perfectly. There is nothing better than finishing a race like this. After a grand tour where you have trouble, to win a stage that on paper wasn't for you, it was a great achievement. In cycling history not a lot of guys have been able to win the last stage in Milano out of a breakaway. Iljo is a cool guy. Everyone knows him. He was using all his energy and experience to win this race, probably also with the help of somebody in the sky. I believe in that. Iljo was flying in a situation like that. It was really wonderful and he was able to make the right decisions in a short time. As Patrick Lefevere says, when a guy like Iljo wins, it's a victory for the whole team because he embodies the team spirit. He won't be upset with me that I say he is the workhorse of the team that always dedicates all of his energy for the team goals. He deserves this victory because he always goes full gas for everyone else when they have their opportunities.
Photo: BrakeThrough Media
Photo: BrakeThrough Media
So, we close this Giro with a victory and a 14th place of Rigoberto and we kept the leadership in the UCI Team Ranking. There is nothing you can do when you are not healthy, but of course we showed that this team is a bunch of fighters. It's a mentality that is part of the team spirit. So, we can conclude the Giro d'Italia maybe not completely satisfied, but convinced we did all we could have done considering the circumstances.
Let me thank all the riders and staff for their great job and collaboration in these days. It was really a pleasure and a privilege to work with this group of guys.