Giro d'Italia (2018) Photos; Stage 0: Teams Presentation and Press Conferences |
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| Jerusalem, site of the 2018 Giro d'Italia teams presentation | share this photo |
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| Jerusalem, site of the 2018 Giro d'Italia teams presentation | share this photo |
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| Israel Cycling Acadamy was the first team presented. Guy SAGIV, the only Israeli on their roster for this race, being interviewed | share this photo |
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| Overhead shot of the teams presentation in Jerusalem | share this photo |
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| Chris Froome will be attempting his third Grand Tour win in a row | share this photo |
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| Team Sunweb leads out last year's overall winner, Tom Dumoulin | share this photo |
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| The day before, a number of the Giro d'Italia's favourites shared their pre-race thoughts at a press conference: Trek Segafreo | share this photo |
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| Jarlinson Pantano: "After the Volta a Catalunya I spent a few weeks at altitude in Colombia to prepare for the Giro. I like this race, my motivation here is to win a stage. But I don’t know which. I like stages 10, 11, 14 and 15. These are the stages where I believe I have a good chance." Gianluca Brambilla: "For me it’s a bit strange to arrive at the Giro d’Italia with only a few days of racing. After the Abu Dhabi Tour, I’ve been off the bike for 20 days as I contracted pneumonia. Then I trained well and I did not come back straight to racing. I waited for the Tour of Croatia. My goal is to try and make a good GC. As I've shown in the past, I prefer to take a stage victory instead of a position outside the top 10 on GC. I start the race by focusing on the top 10 but, if it doesn’t work out, I think I have a stage victory in my legs." | share this photo |
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| Fabio Aru: "Coming to Israel yesterday, we realized the temperature is pretty high. We’ll have to pay attention to hydration. On the roads of stage 2 and stage 3, the wind will also be a factor that should not be underestimated. The opening time trial is a tricky course with lots of ups and downs. I had a great desire to return to the Giro. It’s a crossroads in my career; it’s the right time to win the Giro. I’ve never felt young because I’ve raced with responsibilities albeit with no stress, almost since the beginning; in fact, since 2014. In our team, I feel the serenity and the harmony to do well. There are about 15 riders who are here for GC. In addition to Pinot, Pozzovivo and Lopez, who were in great form at the Tour of the Alps, and Froome, who was in a similar condition to me, there's Chaves, [Simon] Yates, Bennett and Woods, who are among the climbers to watch. I don’t think the Zoncolan or the Jafferau will decide the race… all 21 stages will." | share this photo |
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| Fabio Aru | share this photo |
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| Tom Dumoulin | share this photo |
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| Tom Dumoulin: "It’s not the end of the world if I don't perform in the opening time trial, but it would be nice to get a good result and hopefully win it. I haven't seen the course yet but, in the book, it seems hilly, so it’s good. My first impressions of Israel have been great. I arrived late last night but I couldn’t resist the urge to visit the old city of Jerusalem, so I headed over on my bike. People were looking at me a bit funny, wondering who’s this guy with normal clothes on a race bike… Being the defending champion of the Giro, the difference is how people look at me but I haven’t changed. I was maybe too eager to show myself to the world at the beginning of the season but, after I reflected on what went wrong in the spring, I’m more confident in my capabilities at the start of the Giro. I’ve also learned from last year how to overcome the difficult moments. But I haven’t 'reckonned' any of the mountain stages for this year." | share this photo |
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| Tom Dumoulin | share this photo |
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| Elia Viviani: "It’s a good experience to start the Giro in Israel. One of the beauties of cycling is to see a lot of places in the world. I’m delighted to be here in Jerusalem, a beautiful city with a lot of history. I’m yet to see the course of the time trial and decide if I race it flat out to target the Maglia Rosa later on or reserve strength for the following two days in which I want to win. With races in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, I’m used to winning in the desert and I’m confident to continue this winning streak. I’m here to complete the Giro. After I had a bad experience of going home after eight days, I don’t want that to happen again. An amazing scenery awaits us in Rome for the conclusive stage. It’s an extra motivation. Every time I start the Giro, I aim for the cyclamen jersey but my first goal is to win a stage or more. I’d love to reach Rome with three stage victories and the cyclamen jersey." | share this photo |
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| Chris Froome: "To participate in the Giro is a decision I came to with the team during the winter. It’s been almost a decade since I first started the Giro in the country that welcomed me as a neo-pro with Barloworld and I’m back to win the event. It’s a huge motivation to try and win three Grand Tours in a row. From the feelings I’ve had at the Tour of the Alps, I’m ready to win but I can’t say this is gonna be the result in three weeks' time. I’ve got an extremely versatile team to help me in every part of the race. I’m not going to rely on the time trials to win the Giro. It’s a full package. I’m glad I 'reckonned' the Zoncolan and the time trial [in Trentino]. I already knew the Colle delle Finestre. It's a tough race ahead. We had security concerns before coming to Israel but it’s all been fantastic. We rode with the Israel junior team this morning. Hopefully the Giro starting here will inspire young cyclists and there will be prominent riders from this part of the world on the pro scene in a few years." | share this photo |
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| Team Sky press conference | share this photo |
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| Team Sky press conference | share this photo |
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| Thibaut Pinot | share this photo |
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| Thibaut Pinot: "This is my first visit to Israel and I’m surprised by how beautiful it is. But it’s hot and that’s not my forte. However, the heat would be a problem for me in the mountains, not during the first three stages I guess. Last year I finished 1’20’’ down on Tom Dumoulin. It’s not much but I lost some time in the time trials and I was kind of sick in the second week. This year, I hope to not waste any time so I can make the podium. It’s great to have won the Tour of the Alps, beating Froome, Lopez and others, but each rider's form can be different 15 days before a Grand Tour. I won’t let myself get carried away by this result. Maybe my rivals will mark me more. Most importantly, I want to be in great shape to attack in the mountains." | share this photo |
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| Domenico Pozzovivo: "I trained hard at altitude before the Tour of the Alps where I performed well. It’s been the ideal lead-up to the Giro d’Italia. Cycling is such a global sport that I’m used to travelling for racing, and I think it’s a great opportunity for us to start outside of Italy. I like it here because it’s hot. Depending on the speed of the peloton, I hope to have a chance to look around during the race since it’s my first time in Israel. Vincenzo Nibali was one of my rivals before; he’s now a team-mate. During Tirreno-Adriatico, we shared a few little secrets. He’s a master in positioning in a peloton while I still have a lot to learn. He also took me on a mountain-bike to improve my descending skills. I expect to lose around forty seconds in the opening time trial to riders like Chris Froome and Tom Dumoulin who are specialists in this discipline. Then the Giro will be decided in the mountains. I particularly like the Jafferau for the length of the climb." | share this photo |
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| Israel and Italian race organizers. From left: Zohar Dvir, Seek Elkin, Sylvan Adams, Paolo Bellino, Yariv Levin, Miri Regev, Mauro Vegni and Daniel Benaim | share this photo |
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| Avner Shalev and Gioia Bartali: Stage 1 of the 101st Giro d’Italia is dedicated to Gino Bartali, the former champion who was awarded the honour of ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ on 10 October 2003, three years after he passed away. His name is engraved on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous in the Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem. On the occasion of the first-ever Big Start of the Giro d’Italia outside of Europe, the great Italian cyclist has been made honorary citizen of Israel by the country’s authorities. Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev presented the certificate of Commemorative Citizenship to his grand-daughter, Gioia Bartali. | share this photo |
Giro d'Italia (2018) Photos; Stage 0: Teams Presentation and Press Conferences |
| return to: « Giro d'Italia 2018 Dashboard | Giro d'Italia (2018) photo gallery | Stage 01 photos » |
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