High Road satisfied with Romandie

Team High Road was more than satisfied with its performance in the Tour de Romandie, racking up a stage win, a special jersey and the third place overall. Mark Cavendish started the race out with a win in the prologue. The 22 year-old Manxman proved to be the fastest on the 1.9 kilometre course, and wore the leader's jersey in the first stage.

"For sure the guys showed they are ready," said sports director Brian Holm, referring to the upcoming Giro. "They did a lot of work here and are ready for the big work in the Giro. Marco [Pinotti] and Morris [Possoni] have peaked perfectly and they are really motivated to try to get the stage win or a few days in pink."

Possoni made his mark in the first stage, taking over the sprinter's jersey by winning the intermediate sprints while in an escape group which stayed away until nearly the end. He managed to hold on to the green jersey for the entire race.

The team's other Italian, Pinotti, used an eighth-place finish in the queen stage to move up to third overall. He is now looking forward to the Giro, where he hopes to once again pull on the coveted pink leader's jersey, as he did in 2007.

"The race was a good race for me and for the team," he said on the team's website highroadsports.com. "The level of competition in Romandie was pretty high and I improved race after race. At a personal level I think I've never performed so well and I have to thanks the team staff and management that helped me to reach such a level of self confidence.

"Being part of team High road sharing a successful and winning mindset it's something special and I am proud of my team-mates," he added. "This level right before the Giro makes me committed to do well in the Italian race."