Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Dario Cataldo won the Italian National Time Trial Championship on Sunday.
Cataldo averaged 48 km/h for two laps of 18.5km, besting Adriano Malori by 2" and Marco Pinotti by 35". He finished with a time of 45'49".
Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Matteo Trentin was also in the top 10, finishing 8th (+2'10").
"I am happy for this victory," said Cataldo after the finish. "I was looking for this race for a long time. In 2010, I was second in the national time trial championship in Treviso, but today it was amazing. The course was perfect for my skills. It was quite a hilly route. In the first lap, I had a good tempo without spending too much energies. Then I gave everything in the last few kilometers that were in slighty uphill. I prepared the race with my sport director Davide Bramati, and I knew that in the last 5 kilometers I could have made the difference. Wearing the "tricolor jersey" creates a great emotion. I'm sure it will give me more awareness of my skills. I don't find this to be a surprise. I always had good results in the time trial. What was missing was the great result. This year I trained a lot on my Specialized Shiv bike to improve in the time trial, especially after the Giro d'Italia. Now I need to recover a bit after a very intense first part of the season. I want to devote this victory to myself — because I managed to stay focused after the Giro on to the Nationals — to my family, and my sport director Davide Bramati, who never stopped supporting me and who today sustained me a lot from the team car. "
This was the fourth national time trial victory for Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team. Sylvain Chavanel, Peter Velits and Tony Martin won national championships in their respective countries.
Bert Grabsch, Michal Kwiatkowski, Niki Terpstra, Martin Velits and Zdenek Stybar all had great performances as well, with each finishing 2nd in their country championships.
