🗣️ @MikelLandaMeana: "My goal is the podium" 🗣️ @MikelLandaMeana: "Il mio obiettivo è il podio" #Giro
Mikel Landa: "I’ve never worn the pink jersey, but if it arrives, it will feel welcome"
CyclingThursday, 05 May 2022 at 20:00
Mikel Landa has a long history with the Giro d'Italia, which include glory, heartbreaks and a lot of drama. 2022 will see the Basque climber back on the lead at the Giro, as he comes as the leader for Bahrain - Victorious and is eyeing a high overall classification.
In an interview with VeloNews, Landa has expressed how he feels regarding the first Grand Tour of the season: “I feel good. I think the Tour of the Alps improved my condition and I feel ready for the Giro. The Giro is always hard to manage and difficult to control. I’ve never worn the pink jersey, but if it arrives, it will feel welcome. For sure you need a strong team to make it all the way with the pink jersey.”
“The time trials are always decisive. Of course the Giro is also won in the final week," Landa added. The final week of racing will include four high-mountain stages and a time-trial which are likely to decided the race. However, gaps can be made from the very first day in the overall classification, and with the brutal stage to Blockhaus - alongside others - on the opening week are set to create significant gaps already in the opening week.
This is, however, exactly what Landa needs in order to be at the top of the standings. With very little influence on the race, the time-trials won't be much of an issue for the Bahrain rider, who will aim to make a difference in the mountains. "It’s a course that I like, and it’s a good opportunity for me. There are less time trial kilometers and that always helps. The big summit finishes always prove decisive," he concluded.
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- yeah, that’s a more fair assessment. “reaching mathieu’s level” doesn’t mean you’re planning to replicate his whole career. the former IS doable, potentially. it’s just the latter that likely is not.OCexile25-12-2024
- That’s not entirely true. Every person follows their own development path and peaks differently. Remco and Primoz had hardly started cycling before elite level. Jonas was pretty much under the radzr until he unexpectedly had to take over responsibility at JV. Some guys only get real good in their thirties others have peaked mid-twenties. You can’t tell in advance how and upto what level they will progress, obviously his career might not have MVDPs length but nothing says he could not end up doing a few seasons at his level.Mistermaumau25-12-2024
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- Ok, happy I’m not too interested in this team coz’ the account of what happened is really hard to follow.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- The UCI is worse than USA CyclingVeganpotter24-12-2024
- It's not like they wanted her to not win😅 She had an outstanding Olympics. But there's a reason why she wasn't expected to win the road race and that's ok. Things like this happen and it's great...better than seeing expected winners win.Veganpotter24-12-2024
- Bruyneel ? The man with a lifetime ban from cycling...why do you keep giving him and his doper mate, Armstrong, a platform?DJ24-12-2024
- yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.OCexile24-12-2024