Team Sky's quietest Grand Tour yet
With no wins so far in the 2014 Giro d'Italia, Team Sky has had its quietest Grand Tour outing since it formed in 2010
On the Giro d'Italia's third rest day and with six days to race, Team Sky> is on track for one of its quietest Grand Tours since it began in 2010. It scored two second places – one with Ben Swift in Dublin and one with Dario Cataldo at Oropa – but those fail to compare its past victories.
"Coming here, the plan was different," sports director, Dario Cioni told Cycling Weekly. "We usually go into a Grand Tour with a GC favourite. Obviously, Brad [Wiggins] was racing the Tour of California, Richie [Porte] had problems and we wanted him to focus on the Tour. It would've been different if he was here for GC."
Sky debuted in the Grand Tours with a pink jersey. Wiggins won the Giro d'Italia's time trial in Amsterdam and carried it for one day. It held the leader's jersey in the other Grand Tours, the Vuelta a España and the Tour de France, and of course, won the latter twice with Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome.
This year, Sky revamped its Giro d'Italia team heading towards the race. Porte, who had been earmarked to lead the black and blue team, fell sick and missed vital racing days. On the eve of the Giro, it changed the team again, putting in Chris Sutton for an ailing Pete Kennaugh.
The moves freed the team to take on a multi-prong approach: Swift and Edvald Boasson Hagen for the flat stages, Cataldo for the mountain ones and Kanstantsin Siutsou for the overall classification.
Swift and Cataldo came close. Swift encountered a super Marcel Kittel in Dublin, who remounted and bettered Sky's flawless lead-out. Cataldo timed his move up to Oropa well to beat Jarlinson Pantano, but neither counted on Enrico Battaglin.
A crash on the stage to the Santuario di Oropa dashed Siutsou's classification hopes. He abandoned, but fortunately, the fall did not fracture any bones and only caused "muscular issues with his back."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
It is hard for one specifically to quantify the positive and negative performances of teams because each one goes into a Grand Tour with different purposes and in various phases of its existence. However, one could consider Sky's Giro ride its worst Grand Tour yet based on results.
The assessment could be easily drawn if one looks at what other teams accomplished. Bardiani – a second division team, with a much smaller budget of around €3m – has won twice already in the first 15 days of the Giro.
"But just consider, Bardiani had zero stage wins a few days ago. Now they have two. The situation can change quickly for us, too," Cioni said.
"The initial goal was to place one rider in the top 15 and to win to stages. Obviously, the GC situation is compromised by Kosta's crash, but we feel that a stage win is still possible in this last week of the Giro."
Dario Cataldo comes close to Giro d'Italia stage win for Team Sky
Close second place for Dario Cataldo on stage 14 as he is passed by Enrico Bataglin in final metres
Ben Swift and Team Sky will keep trying for a stage win in Giro
Sky will 'keep trying and catch Kittel off guard' in fight for Giro d'Italia stage wins
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
Among market turmoil, Colnago boasts €55 million in sales: CEO shares the brand’s secret
Colnago’s growth has tripled since the brand’s acquisition by new majority stakeholders in 2020 and seems impervious to the downturn. Here's why.
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Why e-bike torque numbers matter more than you think
You should choose an e-bike based on torque, not just power
By Paul Norman Published
-
'It was time to change': No regrets for Rod Ellingworth after leaving Ineos Grenadiers
New Tour of Britain race director says he is still on good terms with Dave Brailsford after resigning from team last year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I’m just here to enjoy it': Tom Pidcock on his surprise Paris-Roubaix appearance
British rider was a late addition to the Ineos Grenadiers team for the race across the pavé
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
The art of peaking with Geraint Thomas: 'It’s easy to take for granted that 9 times out of 10 I hit my goals'
The Welshman also calls for better governance in the sport to help it grow further
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers’ 500th victory was claimed by a woman; why do they still not have a team?
The British squad is one of the richest in cycling - but Ineos still won’t stump up for a women’s team
By Adam Becket Published
-
'This is so much more than a number': Six of the best Ineos Grenadiers wins as team claims 500th race victory
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot took the 500th team win at the weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'wouldn’t be surprised' to see attacks before the Poggio at Milan-San Remo
British rider will lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers alongside Filippo Ganna
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers delighted with Egan Bernal’s late cameo on stage one of Paris-Nice
Colombian snapped up key bonus seconds in the general classification battle on run in to Les Mureaux
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘It doesn’t change anything’ - Tom Pidcock’s coach on Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche
Kurt Bogaerts says the pressure is off for Pidcock as he looks to defend the title he emphatically won last year
By Tom Thewlis Published