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13 May 2006

14 May News ...

McJet Gives Away No Sprint Secrets

"Hello and welcome to the Robbie show." These were the words of Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) after winning for a third time, stage 6, in this Giro d'Italia.

McEwen once again took advantage of the other trains, Milram and T-Mobile, and blasted away at the right moment. He won. "It is hard being the number one guy," explained the Aussie after stage 6. "Everyone tries to beat you, and tries to find ways to win off of you. It is even harder without Petacchi, or Boonen, in this Giro because I know how to ride my sprints based on their sprints. Now, with the current group racing, I have to be very attentive and react fast."

What is your secret? "Well I don't give them away. Maybe after I retire I can have a business where I teach my sprint tactics and secrets," jokingly said McEwen.

Do you want to continue on to try to win the last stage in Milano? "It is a long way to Milano. I would like to take the Maglia Ciclamino but the race is not in my favor. Paolo Bettini has more chances of scoring points on every type of stage. He is always up front getting points here and there for the jersey. I did not come to the Giro with the ambition of winning the Ciclamino jersey, in fact when I sat down with the race book I only looked through stage six. I have won all the stages which I had planned. Now I will go forward and maybe win another stage.

What do you think about the Milram train without Petacchi? "They are doing what they should," continued the Aussie. "They came here to win stages, and they are trying to continue to do that, even without Petacchi. It would be bad for the race if they just sat at the back of the peloton now that Petacchi has stopped. There are two young sprinters in the team, Lorenzetto and Rigotto, who can learn a lot by sprinter here in the Giro. Even if they finish fifth or sixth, they are learning a lot about sprinting in a Grand Tour. It gives them experience."

Papà, Papà! Pollack Makes Daughter Happy

"Usually in the last 200 meters Robbie will start his sprint," explained Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile) after finishing second in stage 6 of the Giro d'Italia, and taking the leader's Maglia Rosa in the process. "Today I waited longer so that Robbie would not go off of my sprint."

"We are happy to keep the jersey in the team. It is a good situation that it went away from Honchar, but stays in the team with me. The team talked this morning of this scenario, where I could take the Maglia Rosa."

Pollack explained to BiciRace.com how his family is watching in Germany? "Yes. They watch every day and have great belief in my abilities. Certainly today Celina, my youngest daughter, would have been watching and yelling 'papà, papà!'"

You might remember the German in Rosa two years ago. Pollack road a very consistent Corsa Rosa in 2004 with his team, Gerolsteiner. He finished second in five stages, including the prologue and stage 1, which were enough to give him the maglia rosa after stage 1. "... It is completely different than 2004. Then it was a different team [Gerolsteiner], with a different philosophy and a different feeling."

"Tomorrow [stage 7] I don't know if I can keep the Maglia Rosa," continued Pollack after stage 6. "But it will be a beautiful stage and nice to ride in the leader's jersey."

BiciRace.com Japan Interview

BiciRace.com was enjoying the evening, having a pizza in the main piazza of Forlì, when we were asked for an interview by a Japanese correspondent for CyclingTime.com. We were filmed giving our opinion on stage 6, and what will happen this weekend on the two very demanding stages.

We gave Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile) a good chance of keeping the Maglia Rosa on stage 7, but said that the jersey would likely fall out of his hands on stage 8. We picked Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) as the winner for Sunday's stage 8. Keep in mind that The Killer trains on the finishing climb of Passo Lanciano almost once a week.

Tune in this weekend to find out if BiciRace.com was right in our prediction to the Japanese crew.

No Wi-Fi in Italy

We met with l'Americano, Aaron Olson, just before the stage 6 start in Busseto. Aaron looked very relaxed and comfortable with his teammates. This is not his first time in Italy, he race here before in 2000 or 1999, on the same team of Dave Zabriskie.

"I am happy we are now in Italy," commented Olson. "It finally feels like the Giro d'Italia should feel."

Aaron might not like the lack of Wi-Fi here in Italy. "Aaron asked the hotel if they had Wi-Fi," explained Olson's roommate, Marco Pinotti. "I explained to him that the hotels do not even know of the word 'Wi-Fi'." Read more ...

89th Giro d'Italia, 6 - 28 May
Main, Startlist, Classifications, Giro Favorites
Stages and Maps, Key Stages, Overall Map
Photos, The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Aaron Olson and Saunier Duval-Prodir Updates
2005 Giro d'Italia

12 May News ...