The scourge of cycling:
VN: So trying to post a strong GC overall isn’t part of your Giro plan?
CVV: Not for the whole race. I’d like to be up there in the hunt in the first week or so. Every year is a little different and this year we go straight into the mountains lickety-split. That will make the Giro completely different from last year.
I suppose everyone has a right to focus on the Tour de France, and in particular the American teams are usually sponsored by Tour-obsessed entities. I'm certainly not calling VandeVelde a bad guy. But for the love of god... IT'S THE CENTENARY GIRO d'ITALIA! It's not a bloody vacation. Can he at least talk like Garmin are coming to the Giro to win?
Ugh. Anyway, Menchov and Sastre swear up and down that they're coming to the Giro to win. Armstrong and Leipheimer may or may not do the same; they are at least saying the right things even if their Tour lust is well known. And that's on top of the usual Italian suspects (Basso, DiLuca, Simoni, Cunego, Garzelli, maybe Pozzovivo). It's not like we won't have a real battle on our hands. It's just very hard to hear people talk about this race like it's a longer Tirreno-Adriatico. And as an American fan, it sucks to think that so many of our nationals seem to think they can't afford to try for the Giro. Especially this year. Damn... at this rate I may end up rooting for Astana.
Girbecco says: "Bad form, Christian!"