Lithuanian emphasizes importance of World Cycling Centre in his development
In what the UCI will consider perfect timing, tomorrow’s tenth anniversary of the World Cycling Centre will see one of its former trainees wearing the Maglia Rosa of Giro d’Italia.
Ramunas Navardauskas took over the race lead in the race as a result of his Garmin-Barracuda squad’s victory in today’s team time trial in Verona.
The Lithuanian rider vaulted from fifth to first overall, with team-mates Tyler Farrar, Robbie Hunter and Ryder Hesjedal up to second, third and fourth, displacing former race leader Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing Team).
“We thought we could win today, but for myself, I wasn’t sure if I could hold with these guys,” he said after the stage. “I was so glad to stay with them as I tired in the last 10 kilometres.
Navardauskas said at the post-race press conference that he gave a lot of effort as he believed his better-placed team-mate Alex Rasmussen was on the way to going into the Maglia Rosa. However Rasmussen was unexpectedly dropped, handing his team-mate the chance to himself assume the race lead.
The energy he burned up almost cost him at the end, though, and he lost contact in the final few hundred metres. He was however able to fight back on and took over the Maglia Rosa.
“This jersey is a really big thing for me,” he said, enjoying the experience. “It’s been a really good Giro start for me up to now, although we’ll see how it is tomorrow.”
He is ten seconds ahead of Farrar and Hunter, the riders who are closest to him.
World Cycling Centre director Frédéric Magné praised the achievement and the fact that it syncs so well with the centre’s milestone. “We are very happy here with this victory. We only have good memories of Ramunas and, in his way, he has paid us a nice tribute one day before the celebrations of the WCC’s 10th anniversary,” he said.
“This performance is a meaningful symbol because it shows that our athletes have a solid physiological profile, and that we technically and humanly support and develop them.”
Navardauskas was part of the centre in 2006 and this helped him make the next step in his development. The progression he made helped him to go on to take the first of his national road race titles in 2007 then, three years later, to take the under 23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège and finish eighth in the Under 23 Paris-Roubaix.
He joined Garmin-Cervelo the following season and clocked up a second national road race title. He was also part of the victorious team time trial squad at the Tour de France.
With tomorrow’s anniversary on his mind, he thanked those who helped advance his career some six years ago.
“The World Cycling Centre changed my way of cycling,” he said. “Thanks to my time there, I understood that I loved this sport. I met different road and track coaches, all of whom helped me enormously.”