Garcia Dapena will dedicate a stage win to Simeoni

As he completed the inaugural team time trial of the Giro, David Garcia Dapena didn't worry too much about the position of his Xacobeo Galicia team. The Spanish squad eventually finished 18th out of 22. "Since our captain Ezequiel Mosquera broke his wrist and couldn't come here, we won't target the general classification," said the Galician who recently won the one-day race Tour of the Rioja after finishing third at the Presidential Tour of Turkey, a race he won last year.

The selection of the Professional Continental team from Spain was justified at the start in Venice by race organiser Angelo Zomegnan as "the only team that came up with a new climber recently, until he got injured, but there's nothing we can do about that." Zomegnan added, "No TV in Spain would have broadcast the Giro if it was a race entirely with Italian riders. In our mind, Xacobeo Galicia was a valuable replacement for Euskaltel who didn't have enough riders on their roster this year for doing the Giro, Tour and Vuelta. We are happy to have a Giro that is more international than ever."

That was an answer to Filippo Simeoni who returned his Italian champion jersey in protest of the non-selection of his Ceramica Flaminia team. However, Zomegnan noticed that Simeoni returned to the federation "another jersey than the one he won because this one had publicity on it." Simeoni criticised the choice of the promoters of the Giro stating that his team was better than Xacobeo Galicia.

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These comments have come to the ears of Garcia Dapena who won stage 14 at the Vuelta a España last year. "It's the first time I do the Giro and I want to win a stage here as well," he said. "After stage six, I believe there will be many opportunities for riders like me. Shall I manage to do it, I'll dedicate my win to Simeoni as a response to his allegations."