Every team comes into every race with their own ambitions. Such is the nature of sport, however, not everyone can achieve all they set out to. In the first of a two-part feature, Cyclingnews analyses the performance of 10 teams at the Giro d'Italia, looking at whether they hit, surpassed or fell short of their pre-race ambitions.
Pre-race expectations: Tinkoff-Saxo had one goal and one goal only: to win the Giro d’Italia with Alberto Contador. It was the first step in his tilt at the Giro-Tour double and the hope was to claim the maglia rosa in the most efficient way possible so as to conserve resources for July.
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Verdict: Job done. Contador produced a display of individual brilliance to win by a commanding advantage, overcoming such adversities as dislocating his shoulder on stage 6 and being attacked when he punctured on stage 16. He had to dig deeper into his resources than he may have liked – and did struggle to some extent in the mountains on the penultimate day – but winning a Grand Tour shouldn’t come easily. He put Astana in their place and they can only hope they’ve done enough to soften him up for Vincenzo Nibali when the Tour de France rolls around in July.
However, for all the Spaniard’s individual brilliance, there were question marks over the team’s collective performance. Astana put them under intense pressure time and time again, forcing a high pace and igniting the race at every opportunity. After an opening few days in which the Tinkoff domestiques spent a bizarre amount of time on the front, Contador was regularly isolated by the boys in sky blue. Yes, he had more than enough to deal with them, but the fact that Astana’s second-string were able to shred his men might be cause for some concern. (PF)
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