Having six riders in the top 33 and Jose Rujano poised in fifth overall, Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela manager Gianni Savio has said that he is prepared to wait until the climb of the Genting Highlands before pushing for the yellow jersey of race leadership.
Although his riders lost between one minute 26 seconds and two minutes 36 to David Zabriskie (Garmin-Barracuda) in Friday’s 20.3 kilometre individual time trial, a competitor Savio admits that he isn’t certain will lose the lead on Genting, he rules out the notion that his team could try to get closer in the days before the big climbing showdown.
‘Before Genting, I think it is very difficult,” he said, when asked if the Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela team could launch a surprise attack. “[That said], for us, we must pay attention as if there will be a breakaway, we must have one rider in it. We cannot work to bring one breakaway back.”
Savio did a video interview with VeloNation on Friday evening, hours after the time trial, and expressed contentment then with how things turned out for his riders in that race.
Rujano, the 2010 race winner, rode well in the flat test and conceded just nine seconds to the rider who many see as his chief rival for the race title, 2003 champion Tom Danielson (Garmin Barricuda).
Alessandro de Marchi and Carlos Ochoa are less than a minute behind the American, while 2009 race champion Jose Serpa is one minute five seconds back, fourteen seconds closer than last year’s winner Jonnattha Monsalve.
His riders lost between one minute 26 and two minutes 36 seconds to Zabriskie, and all dropped time to Danielson, who finished eighth in last year’s Tour de France.
Savio insisted he was content with things as they stood. “I am happy with the results of our team – a very good result by Rujano, who is a climber,” he said. “I know if he has good condition, he is also able to do a good performance in the time trials.
“With the results of today, it is possibe to see that Jose Rujano and the other riders prepared very well during the months of December and January.”
Click on the image below to watch the complete video interview, which also sees Savio explain the complicated reason why José Serpa was not as ready as he might have been going into Friday’s test.