Director’s report from Matt White
We came so close to finishing off a very productive Giro with a win for the team thanks to Brad’s TT ride on Sunday. Losing by one second and having to ride the last 4km in the rain really hurt.
But the best man certainly won this years Centennial Giro, Denis Menchov. It was a nail biting finish to over 3000 kilometers of intense racing with just over 30 seconds separating the top two. We will now move on to our preparation for July with a lot of confidence. But now having a heightened drive and conviction in turning so many close calls we had in Italy into victories.
Tyler Farrar has now moved into the top echolon of sprinters in the world. I’m very confident that with the help of the team and In particular Julian Dean, Tyler can grab a stage in the TDF.
Tyler Farrar receives the Best Young Rider jersey after stage 2
Brad Wiggins can now also go into July with the confidence that he too can match the worlds best in any distance TT. His climbing abilities have also improved immensely due to not having to focus on his previous track goals and will come in handy for us on many fronts.
The other boys all played their part very well. Whether it was our 21 year-old neo pro Cam Myer giving his all every day for the team. Or for our older crew using the Giro to regain super conditioning for the upcoming months. I am very pleased with the Giro 09. The only real negative was Christian’s early crash, but being the optimist that I am only see this as a different hurdle that has to be overcome!
A pensive DZ reflects on the 2009 Giro
Team Garmin-Slipstream, stage 21 results
1. Ignatas Konovalovas 18.42
2. Bradley Wiggins +0.01
39. Tom Danielson +1.04
51. Danny Pate +1.16
79. Julian Dean +1.37
81. David Zabriskie +1.40
Team Garmin-Slipstream, final GC results
1. Denis Menchov 86h03.11
71. Bradley Wiggins +2.30.09
78. Tom Danielson +2.33.02
136. Julian Dean +3.51.41
144. Danny Pate +4.01.57
152. David Zabriskie +4.10.55
