Starting seventh from last in today’s prologue time trial, Joaquim Rodriguez will begin what will be for him a nervous opening segment of the Giro d’Italia,
The Spaniard’s climbing abilities and his strong spring campaign mark him out as one of the favourites for the race, but the small climber knows that his competitors will do what they can to take time out of him away from the mountains.
“I think these first three days in Denmark for me will be quite dangerous,” he said. “[That’s] not because of the profile of the routes which will be quite flat, but most of all because of the weather, which most probably will be cold and very windy. We have to be very focused in order not to lose some precious time.”
Echelons are predicted for the first part of the race and this is something which could cost the Katusha rider dearly. His build means that he is less suited to that style of racing. He’ll aim to hang on, try to remain close to the bigger rivals, then let loose on his type of terrain.
“Obviously the part of ´Giro´ I like most is the last week, when all the main uphills are concentrated and the overall standings will be decided,” he said.
Rodriguez has been banging on the door of a top Grand Tour performance, but has yet to make the breakthrough. He was sixth and seventh in the 2008 and 2009 Vuelta, then led the 2010 edition of the race. However poor time trial performances put paid to his chances of winning and eventually saw him finish back in fourth place overall.
He was also fourth in last year’s Giro. Those near-misses plus the confidence-boost of taking his first Classic win this year in the Flèche Wallonne have sharpened his resolve to fight for a top performance in this race.
He believes the race is wide open, and that several riders could do it. "This year I can´t see a real favourite,” he said. “I think we all have the same chances. I think more or less we´re all in the same shape, we will see if someone is going to make the difference.”
Being explosive in power and aggressive in his outlook, he’ll try to ensure that particular someone is him.