Although the Montelupone climb where he has twice won a stage will be absent from this month’s Tirreno-Adriatico, 2010 world number one Joaquin Rodriguez is aiming high again for the race. He has trained hard of late and is satisfied that his form is increasing in time for him to put in a very strong performance between March 9th and 15th.
“I hope I´ll be in a good shape in order to try to win at least one of the two stages with a climbing finish: the fourth, with arrival in Chieti, and the sixth, that will end in Macerata. It will be a good test in order to find again some self-confidence too, in view of my next target,” he said, referring to the upcoming Volta a Catalunya.
He and his Katusha team had their altitude training at Mount Etna cut short this week due to bad weather. That was a little frustrating for him, but he came up with a plan B and things worked out fine.
“We wanted to train hard and in fact, the region we were in, with its hard climbs, was perfect. Unfortunately, it was impossible to finish the training program because of the bad weather. We found storms, cold and snow: so, we had to suspend the training camp.”
Going back to Spain was his way around the problem. “It was great there, so I took the bicycle right back. Today I trained on the climbs: in five hours, I clocked up more than 3000 metres in altitude, so I think I trained very well.”
Rodriguez had a breakthrough season last year, winning the Volta ao Catalunya, his home race, and grabbing other victories in the GP Miguel Indurain and on stages of the Tour de France, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and the Vuelta a España. In addition to that, he was second behind Cadel Evans in Flèche Wallonne, fourth overall in the Vuelta a España, fifth in the Clasica San Sebastian and eighth in the Tour de France.
It was a clear improvement on what was already a very solid 2009 season, and he hopes to continue his progression. While illness beforehand meant that he wasn’t in top shape in the Vuelta a Mallorca, he felt better in the Tour of Oman. And while he was unable to take the stage win he wanted there, he tested his legs on the tough finish of Green Mountain, leaving the second group to climb the mountain quicker than almost every other rider in the race. “I felt good sensations..in fact, in this part of the race where I tested my physical condition, only the stage winner Gesink did a better performance than mine.”
Given that he’s been working hard since then, he can reasonably expect that his performance will continue to grow. That should put him well within the running for a stage win in Tirreno-Adriatico, and potentially for the general classification. Equally importantly, it will mean that he is gaining strength and confidence prior to the Ardennes Classics, which are likely to be his first major goals of the season.