American keen to work for team over the three weeks
Bjorn Selander (RadioShack) wears the white jersey of best young rider. (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
Bjorn Selander got his Grand Tour career off to a fine start in Turin on Saturday when he took control of the white jersey of best young rider thanks to a strong performance from his RadioShack squad in the team time trial at the Giro d'Italia.
RadioShack came home in second place, ten seconds down on stage winner HTC-Highroad, and Selander explained that their display was not without its problems.
“We had some problems in the beginning, a guy blew a tyre and just some bad luck, but we worked together well,” Selander told Cyclingnews at the start of stage two in Alba, in the heart of the Langhe.
The 23-year-old American turned professional with RadioShack last year, and he insisted that he has no personal ambitions in this Giro beyond working for Tiago Machado.
“I’m here for the team, the jersey is just an extra,” he said. “But it’s a cool thing to have right now.”
In spite of the extreme difficult of the course, and in particular, the final week, Selander said that he enters the race without any fear. Instead, he is looking to learn from his experience in Italy.
“It’s my first Giro, so it’s all experience for me,” he said. “You have to respect the course but you can’t be scared because then you’re defeated already.”
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
