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Bologna, Italy, May 8, 2019 – Below are the takeaways from the Trek-Segafredo press conference ahead of the Giro d’Italia.
Bauke Mollema
On his pre-Giro condition:
“I think I have had a really good preparation the last few months. More or less like last year before the Tour de France. It’s been a bit different from two years ago when I last rode the Giro with a different race program. Before the Giro in 2017 I didn’t race for 6-7 weeks whereas this year I raced Basque Country, Amstel Gold Race and Flèche-Wallonne. I didn’t do Liège because I wanted to do another good training block at altitude. I think that my preparation went well, I felt really good in training and in the last races; Basque was going better and better towards the end and Amstel and Flèche-Wallonne were good, so I feel that I’m at the level where I wanted to be.”
On his main opponents:
“I don’t see any one rider as my main opponent, I think there are maybe 20 riders who can finish in the top 10. During the race we will see who my opponents will be. I think my focus is just on getting my top level and finding a good focus in the race, don’t make mistakes and stay healthy. When that happens, I have confidence that I can fight for a good position in the general classification. During the race we will probably see in the last 10 days in the mountains which other riders will be up there.”
On his goals:
“The first goal is the general classification, and the second goal is to try to win a stage, if possible, in that order. In 2017 I felt pretty good, especially in the first part of the race and then in the last week I had some problems to keep up there and I lost some positions. With that experience, I prepared better, but we will see in the race if that worked out well. I think this Giro will be super hard, the course is different from two years ago with some mountain stages earlier. We have the opening time trial, but then the second part of the second week and the last week will be really hard and will be decisive.”
“I’ve done a recon for a lot of stages already, especially the mountain stages in the second half of the race, so I know what to expect. It will be really hard but if the legs are good enough then there will be opportunities.”
“It just depends on how good I am myself. If I get to my personal best level and everything goes well then we will see what is possible, but I know I’m not one of the favorites and that there are probably five or maybe ten riders who are bigger favorites on paper, so it just depends on how the race develops.”
On his preparation:
“Two years ago at the Giro was the last time I was top-10 on GC at a Grand Tour. Now is a new chance to prepare for the Giro as well as possible and that’s what I feel I have done. This course is a hard course with tough mountain stages and hard time trials as well, but I think that suits me. I tried to work on my TT training the last few weeks during the last training block and hopefully that will pay off. I think this Giro is a good opportunity for me to fight for the general classification, I have the motivation to do well and that’s why I’m here.”
On racing in Italy:
“I like racing in Italy, last year both of my wins came from here at the Coppi e Bartoli and at GP Begheli. I haven’t raced a lot in Italy in my career; it’s only the third time I’ve ridden the Giro, but so far, it’s been a really hard race for me. I think those two Giros were maybe the hardest Grand Tours I’ve ever done.”
Gianluca Brambilla
Thoughts on Bauke’s condition:
“I saw him looking really ready at Flèche-Wallonne, which is a race that doesn’t suit him 100% because it’s very explosive so that shows that his legs are good, and I think he is well prepared and ready.
On his goals:
“I’m here to help Bauke, first of all, he’s shown his condition and he deserves good riders to help him. I think Trek-Segafredo has a strong line-up of climbers to help Bauke: myself, Giulio Ciccone and Michael Gogl. Also, on the flats we have the big experience of Markel Irizar and Will Clarke.”
“Personally, I feel good, I feel ready for the Giro. Last week I was in Romandie, I think showing good form, and also inside myself I have a really good feeling back on the climbs. I think I’ve had some bad luck recently so it’s my time to get back some good luck and I’ll be there ready to use it.”
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