The Giro d’Italia, set to kick off tomorrow with the 160 km long Durrës–Tiranë, saw seven top riders speak to the numerous media representatives present today. Here are their quotes on the eve of the opening stage.
Primož Roglič: “The Red Bull kilometre is a nice surprise, hopefully it will be fun and bring some action, I hope I don’t really need to sprint for that. It’s interesting to race against my former team-mate Wout van Aert. He’s more than just a cyclist to me. He’ll definitely have his chances during this Giro”.
Wout Van Aert: “We have tried the local laps in Tirana ahead of stage 1. It was good to see the climb. My impression is that it’s quite hard, the start is steep and it’s downhill all the way to the finish. I see a chance for attackers to go to the finish. We have a super strong team with guys for all kind of terrains, opportunities every day. My preparation has not been ideal but here in Albania, I’m looking forward to discover a new culture and new roads”.
Juan Ayuso: “It’s different to race here than at Volta Catalunya. The Giro is harder and longer. I have to be careful every day. Tomorrow is already an important stage in which you can lose more than you can gain. I hope the time trial on Saturday will go t my advantage. Age could have been a factor at the Vuelta in 2022 and 2023, but now, on my 4th Grand Tour, if I crack in the last week, it’s not due to my age”.
Egan Bernal: “I’m still battling myself to win another Grand Tour. We don’t know if I can still win or not, but at least it’s my hope. What I know is that I enjoy cycling more now than when I was winning. With the support of team, I’ve had a super good preparation in the past two weeks. The new design of my national champion jersey recalls the Café de Colombia team from the 80s and 90s. It inspired me to become cyclist, I try to do same to the next generation”.
Thomas Pidcock: “Mainly I want to go and race, get stuck in every day and enjoy racing the Giro. Opportunies will come if I do that. I’m in good shape after the Ardennes classics. I’m looking forward to my first Giro. I have a good relationship with Italy, since I won the Baby Giro. This year I’m doing races I’ve wanted to do for a while, I’m excited that I get the opportunity at this race now”.
Giulio Ciccone: “For sure it will be nervous tomorrow. We have a strong team, we’ll race for Mads [Pedersen]. But we are not the only ones with ambitions, it will be fast and nervous. On the climb we need to be there”.
Richard Carapaz: “Once we’ll race on Italian soil, we’ll encounter familiar roads but in Albania, I’m yet to discover the environment. All stages will be important. The finish of stage 9 in Siena is likely to create differences between GC riders”.
