Giro leader taking nothing for granted as the race heads into the Dolomites
Race leader Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) safely reached the finish of today’s Giro d’Italia stage between Casteldifardo and Ravenna, despite a crash disrupting the front of the peloton in the final two kilometres. Only a dozen or so riders managed to get through to contest the finish, which was won by Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad), but thankfully few riders came down; none of whom were from Contador’s team.
Having safely traversed the eastern, Adriatic coast of Italy, Contador now has the prospect of three successive stages in the steep Dolomite mountains. While the steep gradients, and mountaintop finishes, will suit his climbing skills very well, the Tour de France winner is taking nothing for granted.
“The next few stages will be hard because of the toughness of the previous stages,” said Contador. Although tomorrow’s stage to the Grossglockner, over the border in Austria, will be tough, it is Saturday’s Monte Zoncolan stage that he is looking towards.
“I know the [Monte] Crostis climb pretty well as I tried it out after doing the Fleche Wallone with two of my teammates,” he said. “It is a very demanding climb with 7 or 8 kilometres with a very high percentage, even harder than the Etna ascent. It will be a tough day which will make differences in the GC and show who is weak.”
Contador won the race’s one true mountain stage so far, the mountaintop finish on the iconic Sicilian volcano Mount Etna, by a considerable margin. Most of the race’s other top contenders crossed the line 50 seconds behind the Spaniard, and he now leads his nearest serious competitor Vincenzo Nibali (Liqugas-Cannondale) by 1’21”.
As his team manager Bjarne Riis has repeated though, he refuses to accept that the race is over.
“Right now, a lot people think I’ll win the Giro but there are still many riders with good chances,” he said. “1’20” is nothing.
“Anything can happen on the climbs to come.”