Giro d’Italia – Ryder Hesjedal Becomes First Canadian To Win Giro, Pinotti Takes Time Trial

[W:Ryder Hesjedal] (Garmin-Barracuda) became the first Canadian to win the [W:Giro d?Italia] after securing victory in the final time trial stage in Milan. Hesjedal beat Spain?s [W:Joaquin Rodriguez] (Katusha Team) and Belgium?s Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Team). Italy?s [W:Marco Pinotti] (BMC Racing Team) won the 28.2km time trial in a time of 33:06. Hesjedal said: ?I had to fight for this Giro d?Italia. As we got off the mountain in the helicopter and as descended to Milan yesterday, I knew I still had a shot. I felt incredible on bike pre-riding and knew I could do it in the time trial.? ?The first day I pulled on the pink jersey I knew I was good and had accomplished something great. That made me go even harder. Getting compliments from my rivals gave me even more confidence. Hat?s off to them, they?re all great champions but once we were in the third week and I was doing the rides I was doing, I knew it was possible.? ?My success is down to consistent hard work and by improving a little all the time. I think I showed my ability in the 2010 Tour de France. I had problems in the 2011 Tour but I still showed my ability in the third week. I got the opportunity to focus 100% on the Giro d?Italia this year and the team said I was the designated leader. It doesn?t happen often in a rider?s career to be leader in such a prestigious event, so I came with good legs and wanted to do my very best. The team was excellent and gave it everything. I won this race day after day, by doing my best. That? what it takes.? On his Garmin-Barracuda teammates: ?The guys were even more believing than me at some points. They gave everything. They’re especially proud of me and I?m especially proud of what they did for me. It was great to be on the podium together as the super team of the Giro d?Italia. It?s going to be a good night?? On the impact of his Giro d?Italia victory in Canada: ?The support for me back home has been unreal. I saw one tweet about a guy going into Canada Tire and asking for the pink Garmin-Barracuda jersey?. I think people now know what?s going on at home. I think they appreciate the Giro d?Italia and I hope my win will help Canadian cycling go a long way.? Rodriguez said: ?I really thought I had a chance of winning the Giro d?Italia and so losing is difficult to take. I always race to win. That?s the kind of rider I am.? ?Ryder is the winner of this Giro d?Italia and he deserved it. He proved he?s the strongest?. “I’m sorry because we fought for win all 21 days long. The team worked hard and great, and I think I did a good final ITT too: unfortunately, Ryder was better than me, so congratulations to him, he deserved this victory. The gap between us is very poor, but it’s useless to think now of when I lost this competition, whether I could do something better or not: that’s cycling, everyday is important, we did our best but Hesjedal was great. Now we have to think about our future: we did a great ‘Giro’, we must continue to work and train like this, because that’s the good path”.

De Gendt said: ?I don?t think a Belgian rider has finished on the podium of a grand tour for many years so I think my third place is a huge result. I?m proud to be on the podium with Hesjedal and Rodriguez.? Marco Pinotti helped the BMC Racing Team score bookend wins at the Giro d’Italia by winning Sunday’s final time trial in Milan after teammate Taylor Phinney won the Stage 1 time trial in Denmark. ‘Was A Big Goal’ Pinotti and his BMC timemachine TM01 averaged more than 51 kilometers an hour on the 28.2 km course to take the win by 39 seconds over Geraint Thomas (Sky Procycling). “This was a big goal for me,” Pinotti said. “I won the last time trial here at the Giro in 2008 and I was second in 2010 and last year it was a big goal. But I crashed two days before and had to go to the hospital. So I’ve been working for this for a year. For me, it’s been a difficult Giro. I was trying to save all my energy for this in the last week.” ?Last year I crashed out of the Giro d?Italia and so this win pays me back for that. A crash took me out of the classification and that?s when I started to think about this time trial. It?s always difficult to win the last stage but I did it.? ?The fact that there isn?t an Italian rider on the overall podium shows that the Giro d?Italia has grown internationally. However lots of Italian riders have also shown their potential for the future?. The victory is Pinotti’s first since he won his fifth Italian national time trial championship on June 27, 2010 and his second in an individual time trial at the Giro to go along with three team time trial wins. He was also honored for being the Giro’s top time trial rider after the podium presentation for overall race winner Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda). Phinney Off Course Pinotti’s victory helped erase some of the [W:BMC Racing Team]’s disappointment for [W:Taylor Phinney], who saw his own chances for victory dashed when he followed an escort motorcycle off course. The incident broke the concentration of the former U.S. national time trial champion, who wound up 16th on the day, 1:31 behind Pinotti. “I had promised myself to never get upset, but today at the finish it was hard,” he said. “I fought during all three weeks to get here and do a good time trial and then it’s’ hard when the moto in front of you goes the wrong way. At that moment, (BMC Racing Team Assistant Director) Max Sciandri told me to turn, but it wasn’t clear. So then I had to stop and make the curve. So I lost time and was really disappointed.” Tschopp 14th Overall The BMC Racing Team’s top overall finisher for the second straight year was Johann Tschopp, who battled a lingering cold and a sore neck to place 14th, one spot better than he did in 2011. “Until the end I did everything I could to get a place in the top 10,” Tschopp said. “This was a new experience for me, a new experience of life and it is all positive for the future.” The BMC Racing Team’s third Giro d’Italia was also highlighted by Phinney’s three days in the race lead and top five stage finishes by Ivan Santaromita (Stage 12) and Mathias Frank (Stage 16).

Team Saxo Bank’s DS, Fabrizio Guidi is generally happy about the riders’ effort throughout the race despite the lack of top results: ?We’ve been trying out a brand new sprinter train that needed a little adjustment along the way but it worked out fine. Of course, we need that stage win before we can be completely happy. But I’m happy to see so many of the less experienced riders getting through the stage. They’ll be on another level mentally and physically after this tough race and that will benefit them and the team in the future. Manuele (Boaro) has impressed me through the race. Both on the prologue, the team time trial and also with numerous attacks relatively late in the race. But the huge effort took its toll in him today and he was simply burned out and that’s only natural,? said sports director, Fabrizio Guidi. Anders Lund says: “The main objective was to support JJ (Haedo) in the bunch sprints and naturally to try to make it into the crucial breakaway and make it to the finish line. The first was alright but the latter didn’t work out as I expected. But it’s easier said than done to strike the right break as a lot of riders are eager to do the same as me so it takes a bit of luck as well.” Jonas Aaen comments: “I’ve been fighting these final couple of days to make it to the finish line within the time limit so it’s been a few very extreme stages. My general hop was to be in a break in the race and of course, I’m a bit disappointed to have missed it and I guess I still need a bit of experience to be up there,? concluded Jonas Aaen. Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team wrapped up the Giro d’Italia with a top 10 finish in the 31km individual time trial, as well as a couple top 15 finishes for the stage and a top 15 finish in the overall. Julien Vermote was 10th (+1’23”) in the individual time trial, while Michal Kwiatkowski was 12th (+1’24”) and Dario Cataldo was 13th (+1’25”). Cataldo wrapped up the three week grand tour in 12th place overall. “It was a difficult race,” Cataldo said. “I am happy about the fact the team tried for the entire race. Day by day we did the maximum. Sometimes I had some little problems, for example stage 16 with the arrival in Cortina, but I am happy about the fact that I tried. The goal of this Giro was to place in the top 10 of the GC. I finished 12th, so I am just near the goal, the position, I was expecting. If I consider all the circumstances I think we did a good race. I want to thank the team for the big effort, trying to to support me every moment of every stage. We raced as a real team, all together.” “I didn’t expect to be 10th today in the time trial,” Vermote said. “It means that I had enough power today to try to do something good. So for that I am happy. At the beginning of this week I was also a little bit sick. After three stages in the high mountains, it was not easy for me to be there fighting for top 10 in a time trial. So the Giro was a great experience. At the beginning I didn’t know what I could expect for a race like that. Now, after three weeks, I can say it was really important for my experience and I am sure also important for my professional growth. I know I have a lot to do ? a lot of learning and improvement ? but I am happy about my Giro.” “I am happy about my Giro d’Italia,” Kwiatkowski said. “At the beginning I was trying a little for the white jersey, but it was maybe a little too hard for me this time. But it was a great experience, and great atmosphere on the team. We were close to victory in a couple of stages, so it means we did a good job as a team. I was expecting a good time trial for myself. Now I will try to recover for a little bit and try and do a good national championship on the road, but especially the time trial. It won’t be easy to win but I will do my best to get a good result for me and the team.” Rigoberto Ur?n clinched the white jersey and seventh overall at the Giro d?Italia while Sergio Henao jumped up two places to ninth in Milan. The Colombian pairing capped off a strong three weeks which saw Team Sky battling on all fronts, both in the sprints and in the high mountains, to leave their mark on the first Grand Tour of the season. Seventh and ninth reflected a consistent campaign from Ur?n and Henao, with the latter taking a superb top-10 placing in his first ever Grand Tour, comfortably seeing off John Gadret (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi) on the Milan streets to vault up the leaderboard. [W:Geraint Thomas] was also a star on the final day, setting a superb time of 33 minutes and 45 seconds to register second quickest time, only beaten in the city-centre course by Marco Pinotti (BMC Racing). Steven de Jongh, Team Sky?Sports Director: ?I’m really happy with our results in this race and it’s nice to finish today on a high. G produced a great performance in the time trial which he should be really happy with after three weeks of racing. Pinotti was the strongest man on the day so hats off to him. ?Sergio also put up a great fight today. He was really happy to move up two places on the GC and ninth place overall is an amazing result for his first Grand Tour appearance. ?Ryder Hesjedal is a deserved winner, for sure. His attack at the end of stage 19 put 23 seconds into Rodriguez and that?s ultimately where the race was won.? 2012 Giro d’Italia Stage 21 Results & Final General Classification