May 12th, 2011 by Al Fresco View Comments
? 2011 Cor Vos/Bike World News
In Thursday?s sixth stage of the Tour of Italy, Spaniard Francisco Ventoso rode to the first ProTour victory for his Movistar team and for Campagnolo?s electronic shifting group. Here?s the day?s news and quotes:
- ?It was very, very long and very, very hard ?. I am happy that I beat Petacchi, who is now gone very well,? Ventoso commented at the finish of his first stage victory in a Giro. ?As we could see the outliers in the last kilometers, we knew that there would be a chance to win. ?
- Winner of Paris-Brussels last year, Ventoso?s victory in the spa town of Fiuggi is his fifth win of the 2011 season.
- ?I had this stage marked with an ?X? because I knew the uphill would favor me, but I thought Petacchi was going to get it,? Ventoso told reporters. ?I followed his wheel up the climb. He cracked with 20 meters to go and I was able to win.?
- We originally speculated that Alessandro Petacchi had a mechanical that slowed his final sprint, but it seems that he was just out of gas.??Although I did not win, I?m very satisfied because I performed a very good sprint,? Petacchi said. ?On arrival and against such a tough wind that was very strong, I had to give my best in order to try to compete for the victory. I was told that I overtook Francisco, but my energy was so low that I could not even see it.?
- Danilo Di Luca tried to anticipate his final sprint in Fiuggi ?and he was able to ride to 4th place behind three sprinters.??I tried to win against any prognostication today, anticipating my sprint,? Di Luca right after the finish. ?Hondo, who I followed, moved and I decided to try to take the group by surprise. But very fast riders such as Petacchi and Ventoso are much more explosive than me and they passed me.Was this a test for tomorrow? Absolutely not because it will be a very different stage. It?s a stage I really care about and I?ll try to do my best, but my goal is to help our leader Rodriguez.?
- Kristof Vandewalle of the Quick Step team took a starring role in a 200 km-long break in the company of other 4 riders. The strong Belgian rider was the last one to give up, attacking alone with about 9 km to go to the finishline. Vandewalle was caught by the peloton at 1.5 km to the finish.??I tried. Today my legs were really good,? explained Vandewalle at the first major tour in his career. ?In the break there was always excellent collaboration; we rode hard but the group didn?t give us much of a lead. I tried attacking in the final, I gave it my all, but the road was too in favour of the chasers. Winning would have been a dream. Now my goal is to try again as soon as I get the chance.?
- Saxo Bank-SunGard captain, Alberto Contador finished in the peloton and remained ninth in the overall classification.??The stage went just the way we wanted it to and Alberto was safely positioned in the front group before the climb and was followed by teammates, Jesus Hernandez and Volodymir (Gustov). Everyone?s feeling well and the riders are in perfect condition. Tomorrow?s stage is very short but the final uphill finish will surely take its toll on the peloton and we?re positive that Alberto is ready for any battle that should occur,? said Saxo Bank-SunGard sports director, Philippe Mauduit.
- Saxo Bank-SunGard?s Michael M?rk?v is looking forward to tomorrow?s stage:??I?m pretty tired after a tough start of the race but it?s like this for all of us and I only hope to be strong enough to help Alberto to a great result. He (Alberto) is looking very sharp and I?m looking forward to seeing him and Jesus (Hernandez) unfold on tomorrow?s stage. The stage might actually cause some of the heavy riders problems as they might not be able to reach the finish line within the time limit. My job is to get past the first climb with the bunch and help Alberto to the foot of the final climb before I find my own rhythm.?
- Rabobank and Euskaltel Euskadi issued a joint statement detailing the events of the fifth stage the lead to the crash of Rabobank team member Tom Slagter 15 kilometers from the finish that forced him to abandon. Both teams reiterated that Slagter requested a water bottle from a Euskaltel Euskadi helper. When the peloton traveling on the left side of the road, Slagter swerved to his right, took the bottle, slipped it in his bottle cage and proceeded to go down in the process.
- Slagter will leave the Giro and return to the Netherlands once he is released from the hospital in Italy. The Dutch rider sustained a concussion, a fractured eye socket and facial injuries from his crash.
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Tags: 2011 Giro d'Italia?alberto contador?Alessandro Petacchi?campagnolo?Classification?danilo di luca?francisco ventoso?movistar?paris-brussels?saxo bank-sungard?Stage 6
Source: http://www.bikeworldnews.com/2011/05/12/2011-giro-ditalia-stage-6-news-notes-quotes/
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