Video: Guardini confirms he’ll make Giro debut this year
Italian’s post race press conference also onlineHaving redisplayed the sprinting speed which earned him five stage victories last year and three in this edition of the Tour de Langkawi, Italian fastman Andrea Guardini has confirmed that he will compete in his first Giro d’Italia this year, and that he will aim for success there. Guardini was tipped to ride the race as a first year pro in 2011, with his team telling him that he would be selected if he won a stage in the Presidential Tour of Turkey. He duly did so, but Farnese Vini later decided with him that the Giro might be too much, too soon, for the 22 year old. He went on to clock up a total of eleven victories, equaling the total set by Mark Cavendish during his own debut season four years earlier. “This year, for me in May there is the Giro, [...]
Guardini takes seventh Tour de Langkawi stage win of career
Italian sprinter beats Garmin Barracuda’s Raymond Kreder into Parit SulongTwo road race stages completed, two sprints won. As he did in the 2011 edition, young Italian sprinter Andrea Guardini is once again showing that he is the fastest rider in the Tour de Langkawi. Twenty four hours after winning into Melaka, the Farnese Vini – Selle Italia rider triumphed into the town of Parit Sulong. His latest success came at the end of a nervous run into the line, with a number of riders crashing inside the final five kilometres. Guardini’s squad kept him out of trouble, helping him remain towards the front and providing the final leadout before he hit the jets and rocketed towards the line Garmin – Barracuda’s Raymond Kreder tried to get past him, but Guardini was too strong. He punched the air in celebration of what is his seventh stage victory in two years, and [...]
Video: Peiper leaning towards Danielson as Garmin-Barracuda’s protected rider
Says it’s uncertain how race leader Zabriskie will fare on Genting Although Dave Zabriskie has said that he isn’t ruling himself out of contention for the final victory in the Tour de Langkawi, with his buffer of over a minute on the GC contenders giving him room for manoeuvre on the crucial sixth stage to Genting Highlands, Garmin Barracuda Director of Competitions Allan Peiper has suggested that Tom Danielson is a more likely prospect for overall success. “I’m not sure how Dave Z is climbing at the moment,” he told VeloNation in a video interview carried out after the stage two finish. “From what Tom Danielson said to me, it is a really, really hard climb. Tom is talking about a couple of other dangers on the climb – we will see how we go when we get there. “Tom has won the race before and he’s very motivated to [...]
Videos: images and post-stage reactions of Guardini and Zabriskie
American in zany humour as yellow jersey defence continuesFirst on today’s stage and first overall in the race, Andrea Guardini and Dave Zabriskie had quite different reactions at the end of today’s second stage of the Tour de Langkawi. Guardini was elated to clock up his first win of the season, having gone close on several other occasions this year. Video footage recorded by VeloNation at the end of the stage to Melaka show his sprint victory, the considerable media attention he received as a result and also his own post stage comments. In contrast to Guardini’s celebratory demeanour, Zabriskie initially appeared more low key after defending the yellow jersey he took on yesterday’s opening 20.3 kilometre time trial. A couple of minutes after the main bunch crossed the line, led home by Guardini, the American stood two hundred metres past the finish and looked considerably drained. Drawing on a [...]
Video: Savio says he’s content for his riders to wait until Genting Highlands
Androni Giocattoli manager rules out early attacks in Tour de LangkawiHaving six riders in the top 33 and Jose Rujano poised in fifth overall, Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela manager Gianni Savio has said that he is prepared to wait until the climb of the Genting Highlands before pushing for the yellow jersey of race leadership. Although his riders lost between one minute 26 seconds and two minutes 36 to David Zabriskie (Garmin-Barracuda) in Friday’s 20.3 kilometre individual time trial, a competitor Savio admits that he isn’t certain will lose the lead on Genting, he rules out the notion that his team could try to get closer in the days before the big climbing showdown. ‘Before Genting, I think it is very difficult,” he said, when asked if the Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela team could launch a surprise attack. “[That said], for us, we must pay attention as if there will [...]
Video: Zabriskie not ruling out fighting for GC in Langkawi
American rider gives his thoughts in post-stage reactionYesterday’s prologue time trial winner Dave Zabriskie is primarly known as a time trial rider but, after taking the race lead on yesterday’s opening stage of the Tour de Langkawi, he believes that he might be in good enough shape to try to defend his lead on the crucial climb of Genting Highlands. While he didn’t say that he would be able to hold onto the pure climbers on the steep slopes, he hinted in his post-race press conference that he wasn’t ruling out battling for the jersey. “I think I’m climbing a lot better than I was last year,” he said, explaining that his winter training had gone exceptionally well. “I stayed in California most of the off-season, I didn’t go to the team training camp – my training camp was a couple of months long, not two weeks long. “I had [...]