Domenico Pozzovivo stays safe in the bunch(Image credit: Sirotti)
Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r-La Mondiale) tried to balance some cautious riding on the descents with a full-on effort on the climbs during the Barolo time trial at the Giro d'Italia.
He started off fast, setting the fastest intermediate time after 12.6km, 15 second faster than Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep). However, he lost a minute on the long descent and completed the stage 2:09 minutes behind Uran, who was the stage winner and new race leader. He also lost 30 seconds to Cadel Evans (BMC).
Pozzovivo remains fourth overall but is now 2:32 down on Uran. He was clearly disappointed as he watched Uran blast home, win the stage and take the pink jersey but was convinced of his race strategy.
"In theory, it was a time trial that suited me. I think I did a good ride. I didn’t take any risks on the descents and I think my time splits on the climbs were very good," he said.
Despite losing time, Pozzovivo refused to throw in the towel. He is looking to the mountain stages this weekend and then next week in the Dolomites and the final mountain finish on the steep slopes of Monte Zoncolan.
"Uran did a great ride but we're still up there. We'll fight it out for the Giro on the mountain stages," he predicted.
"We head into the mountains on Saturday and hopefully the weather will be good. The forecasts aren't showing any rain, so that makes me optimistic."
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
