Giro del Trentino - Ciclismo

Reigning champion Ivan Basso and Liquigas-Doimo’s team mate Franco Pellizotti met the press in Arco (Trento) - North East of Italy, sharing some thoughts about Giro del Trentino starting tomorrow, Tuesday 20th. “In 2009 I took an unexpected but very important victory here in Trentino – Basso said – then I came to the Giro d’Italia but I didn’t manage to impress. Now I really would like to double last year’s win”. Pellizotti kept a lower profile during the press conference: “Normally they don’t look at me as one of the major contender, but that is an advantage to me. The most important thing is to be in the action during the race and to show everyone who really I am”.

Team Liquigas won the last two editions of the Trentino’s stage-race with Nibali and Basso and wish to continue their winning streak in 2010. Also Vinokourov, Garzelli and Scarponi, to name a few, are looking forward to ride a solid race as well as returning Riccardo Riccò. Flaminia’s climber attended the press conference in Arco talking about Giro d’Italia: “I will be on holiday during the Corsa Rosa, but I ‘m here to prove I can be a fearsome competitor. I’m very relaxed and I have serenity in my life. Actually I really don’t care about the others. I go my way”. “People who didn’t love me before, don’t love me now”, Riccò added.

Even Gilberto Simoni appeared at the race eve, in spite of his weak ambitions: he’s here just to gift himself latest emotions. Unlike Riccò, he was talkative and happy to be in the action after getting Lampre-Farnese’s very last-minute consent. “It’s a very special moment for me – Gilberto said – cycling was my life along 25 years, I keep all in my head as a movie, but I know the right moment to stop finally came”.

2010 Giro del Trentino starts tomorrow with time-trial prologue from Riva del Garda to Torbole sul Garda, a 12.5km flat course suitable for TT specialists as well as overall win’s pretenders. Astana’s Andreas Kloeden won the prologue in 2009 and once more Kazakh team lines up one of main favourites, Alexander Vinokourov. About Italians, Ivan Basso hits a top-position, whit youngsters Alfredo Balloni and “enfant du pays” Daniel Oss (first on the starting line at 13.30h).

List of favourites also includes strong “rouleurs” Ignatiev from Russia, Valjavec from Slovenia and Grabovskyy from Ukraina, all of them to be on guard because of famous wind “Ora del Garda”, usually blowing on the lake in the first afternoon.

2010 Giro del Trentino’s stages:

- 20 april: RIVA DEL GARDA - TORBOLE SUL GARDA (individual TT 12,5km)
- 21 april: DRO - SAN MARTINO DI CASTROZZA (172,5km)
- 22 april: FIERA DI PRIMIERO – TRENTO (164km)
- 23 april: ARCO - ALPE DI PAMPEAGO VAL DI FIEMME (172.1km)

Photo: race organizer Nerino Ioppi together with Ivan Basso and Franco Pellizotti