For the first time since his second place in 2012, Filippo Pozzato returned to the top 10 of the Tour of Flanders, finishing eighth and second of the three Italians that made it into the top 10. The Wilier Triestina man said that he had the legs to do more but was caught napping on the Taaienberg when Peter Sagan attacked.
"I felt good but it would have been better if I'd been able to stay with Greg and Peter. When Peter attacked, I stayed in the back. I had the legs to stay in the front but I was sleeping," he told Cyclingnews, brushing off the disappointment with his usual jokey style. "The tactic was to try and be attentive all day because I wanted to stay right behind Peter. When he attacked, I was at the back of the group and it wasn't possible to follow. I tried to attack a lot of times but a lot of guys didn't have the legs to follow and it was impossible to close the gap."
Pozzato was one of those that were caught out when the bunch split on the Muur, but he was able to maintain his position in an ever dwindling peloton, up until the point that Sagan went away on the Taaienberg. He, like many others, had expected the key selection to happen much later in the race.
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"I didn't expect the attack on the Muur from Quick-Step but it was a good solution for Quick-Step," he said, adding that he was happy to see the Muur back in the route. "I think it was good for the public and it was a strange race for the show. I think that it was good for the organisation to put the Muur in and then three times up the Kwaremont, the Paterberg, I think for the public it was very nice."
Between 2006 and 2012, Pozzato enjoyed a solid run at the monuments, scoring podium finishes at Milan-San Remo – one of which was his victory in 2006 - the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Since then, however, the visits have not been quite so regular with an eighth place at Milan-San Remo, a race that he has done well at more than any other, the only top 10 result in that time. Much of that time was spent at Lampre-Merida but his move to Southeast, now Wilier Triestina, seems to have revived him somewhat. However, he says that riding for a smaller team has made getting results at the bigger races a bit more of a challenge.
"I'm happy for sure that I was able to stay in the front with the big riders and I think it is position in the front, but it's not simple when you race for a small team," he said. "It's not easy, I don't have the WorldTour racing in the legs and when I have the first three riders open the gas. For me, it was difficult. It was only in San Remo with the top riders that went so well. Now, it wasn't quite like I wanted."
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