Giro d’Italia race leader David Millar expects a very aggressive day of racing on the roads to Orvieto, anticipating a stream of attacks during the lumpy 191 kilometre stage.
“I think we will be back into full racing mode tomorrow. I think it is going to be fairly full on, especially after we took it a bit easier today,” he told VeloNation yesterday evening. “It should be an exciting day, and I think as ever it is going to be an exciting Giro.”
Today’s stage includes two third category climbs, but a glance at the route profile shows that the terrain is up and down more often that than statistic suggests. The final three kilometres slope upwards, with a section two kilometres from the line briefly hitting a gradient of 15%.
Things remain tight at the top and with a stage win at stake plus a chance for others to scoop his pink jersey, he knows that he will come under attack. However he’s ready for the challenge. “I haven’t felt this good in a long time, so I am quietly confident,” he said. “It is going to be difficult controlling it, though, and anything can happen…there could be mechanicals or crashes. But I think my team is strong…and I think a lot of other teams have an interest in keeping it together.”
Millar was second on stage three to Rapallo, losing out to Angel Vicioso in the sprint to the line. He didn’t get the stage victory he was aiming for, but did pull on the Maglia Rosa. It’s been a strange experience wearing it, as the tragic death of Wouter Weylandt has cast a shadow over the race and saw yesterday’s stage
“This is the first time I have led the Giro. It is nice to have it on my palmares, but there’s mixed emotions at the moment,” he said. “There has not been the slightest bit of celebration so far, which is in stark contract to what this situation would normally dictate.”
Millar has seen the effects of what happened, in that his Garmin-Cervélo team-mate Tyler Farrar was best friends with the fallen rider. He was badly affected by what happened, and Millar helped give some support at what is a very difficult time.
“Tyler is going home tonight. I spent the evening with him last night [Monday] and the poor guy was in a state, he was devastated,” he said. “It wasn’t a pleasant evening last night.”
As a result of Weylandt’s passing, the podium presentations have been very low key. Millar did however have a nice experience yesterday when he was presented with a replica of the first-ever pink jersey at the naval academy in Genova. A copy of that worn by Learco Guerra, he appeared very proud to don it and wore it back to his team hotel.
The atmosphere at the presentation was warm, the applause and cheers for him appreciative. It put a smile back on his face and motivated him for the days ahead.
“I don’t know how long I can keep the jersey, but I’ll do it as long as I can,” he said. “Personally, the race has been doing very well for me and I feel good. My priority is still to win a stage. I made a couple of mistakes yesterday [Monday], but there’s no reason why I can’t win one. So I’ll go for that.”