"This time it derailed": Dainese's sprint train faces tough times (and kangaroos!) in Australia

Alberto Dainese's debut in Soudal - Quick-Step jersey was a discovery process. The sprint train's first crash test at Tour Down Under was therefore quite chaotic at times. In a sense, the results speak for themselves as Dainese finished 23rd, 38th and 30th. Far from what he had envisioned, but the biggest upset was awaiting on the final day of the race.

"Everything happened: most importantly, I hit a kangaroo," he told Bici.Pro. As comical as it sounds, the Italian himself wasn't exactly overjoyed as the rampaging peloton rapidly hit Dainese himself from behind, causing a violent fall onto handlebars. "I thought I'd broken something, because I couldn't breathe for a long time. Luckily, it was just a few bruises."

The 27-year-old sprinter joined Quick-Step after two years with Tudor Pro Cycling, having turned professional with Picnic PostNL in 2020 (then Team Sunweb). As the team's 3rd sprinter behind stars Tim Merlier and Paul Magnier, the Italian obviously hoped to hit the ground running as soon as possible to ensure his own share of opportunities. However the season preparation was not without issues:

"I wasn't coming off a great winter. In December, I had a fever twice. But this race was perfect for getting into shape."

There were ultimately four sprint finishes at this year's Tour Down Under, more than was planned. However two of them required a certain degree of versatility. Not quite Dainese's specialty.

"There were some sprints, but they weren't flat. For me, they were two turbulent sprints, in which I and we made the wrong interpretation, positioning, and tactical choices. But we're moving forward. It was certainly a good job of fine-tuning our legs."

Overall, Dainese sounds optimistic about his sprint train, despite failing on its debut. "This time it derailed," he admitted, further providing an explanation: "In the first sprint, I followed Fabio Van den Bossche, but before the last corner he punctured: his pressure dropped, and in that turn alone I lost 30 positions. In the second, we lost Casper Pedersen. In short, it's a work in progress!"

One extra attempt awaits Dainese in Australia before return to Europe. The block of races has unfortunately shrunk as the Surf Coast Classic is most likely being completely cancelled due to wildfire dangers, but the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race could play out in many directions, including the one that would favor Dainese.

"Before leaving Australia, we'll do two more races down here."

Dainese then lists his closest appointments: "I should do the Vuelta a Murcia and Giro di Sardegna, but I'm a reserve in many races, so we'll have to see."

It's been mentioned before, but Dainese won't normally be Quick-Step's first nor second choice while planning the season goals. But how did Dainese himself get along with Merlier and Magnier?

"With Merlier, almost nothing, because he had knee problems, and I also struggled a lot in the January training camp coming back from the flu," he admitted that the two men hardly found grounds for a chat yet.

With the young Frenchman, he had spent quite some time with, and the Italian has only words of praise: "A phenomenon. Pure talent. He's young, but he has knowledge you wouldn't expect at that age. He wins both flat sprints and those where you have to hold on. He's perhaps the closest rider to Peter Sagan I've ever seen," he concludes.