News: Carthy to ride Giro d’Italia

Hugh Carthy to ride his first Giro d’Italia for Cannondale Drapac – ” it is the one grand tour that I have wanted to ride more than others” …

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News: Carthy to ride Giro d’Italia

Formolo. Dombrowski. Rolland. Villella. Woods. Slagter. Koren. Howes. Carthy.

Cannondale-Drapac is rolling into the 100th Giro with a squad that’s poised to attack the race and look for opportunity along Italy’s fabled roads. The team is not beholden to a single leader at the Giro, and head director Charly Wegelius hopes the riders make the most of such freedom.

“My hope is that they can enjoy that and try things, and experiment with things, and just push their limits without fear of losing anything or having to do any sort of defensive decision making,” Wegelius said. “They can just see how it works out on the road and grow from it. I think that’s pretty precious in the development of a rider.”

The lineup, however youthful and opportunistic, isn’t a stranger to the Giro. Formolo won a stage in 2015. Rolland finished fourth overall in 2014. Dombrowski lit up the final week of the race last season. Howes is a steady hand wherever he goes. Slagter has performed well on varied terrain his entire career. Woods showed in the Ardennes he’s got bite. Koren knows Italian roads and Italian racing, same as Villella. Carthy just rode a gritty Tour of the Alps.

The season’s first grand tour has been affectionately dubbed the “connoisseur’s grand tour.” It lacks the absolute control of the Tour de France and its fans — tifosi — are among the sport’s most vibrant. The roads are spectacular. The weather is unpredictable. The Giro can feel like a three-week one-day race.

“It’s a big event, but it’s still real enough to have a genuine character. The Tour de France is a massive global event, but the Giro has still got its quirks, and it basically represents everything that’s great about Italy and the Italian culture. It’s effervescent and it’s bubbly, and it’s unpredictable, colorful,” Wegelius said.

Hugh Carthy says of the race “I’ve never ridden the Giro before but in the past few years as a professional it is the one grand tour that I have wanted to ride more than others. People who have ridden it describe it as the most beautiful, brutal yet enjoyable race. Having spent a lot of the season so far in the company of my Italian teammates, the significance and specialness of the centenary edition is clear to see.”

Wegelius on Carthy’s selection says “Hugh’s coming to the Giro on the back of his first three-week race of the end of last year in the Vuelta. He’s going to discover the Giro, and I hope he’s going to find out what I suspect, which is that he’s a prototype Giro rider. He’s very resilient despite his young age. He’s robust. I think he can give his best on steep climbs, which the Giro offers in a way the Tour doesn’t. He’s another one of the guys who, despite the fact that he’s very talented and performing well, still needs space and time to find himself and to develop. I think that this is his first real rendezvous on that journey.”

Cannondale-Drapac for the 2017 Giro d’Italia:

Davide Formolo (ITA)
Joe Dombrowski (USA)
Pierre Rolland (FRA)
Daivde Villella (ITA)
Mike Woods (CAN)
Tom-Jelte Slagter (NLD)
Kristijan Koren (SVN)
Alex Howes (USA)
Hugh Carthy (GBR)
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The Stages
5th May: Stage 1 – Alghero to Olbia (206km)
6th May: Stage 2 – Olbia to Tortoli (221km)
7th May: Stage 3 – Tortoli to Cagliari (148km)

8th May: Rest/Transfer Day

9th May: Stage 4 – Cefalu to Etna (181km)
10th May: Stage 5 – Pedara to Messina (159km)
11th May: Stage 6 – Reggio Calabria to Terme Luigiane (217km)
Friday, 12th May: Stage 7 – Castrovillari to Alberobello (224km)
13th May: Stage 8 – Molfetta to Peschici (189km)
14th May: Stage 9 – Montenero di Bisaccia to Blockhaus (149km)

15th May; Rest Day

16th May: Stage 10 – Foligno to Montefalco ITT (39.8km)
17th May: Stage 11 – Firenze to Bagno di Romagna (161km)
18th May: Stage 12 – Forli to Reggio Emilia (229km)
19th May: Stage 13 – Reggio Emilia to Tortona (167km)
20th May: Stage 14 – Castellania to Oropa (131km)
21st May: Stage 15 – Valdengo to Bergamo (199km)

Monday, 22nd May: Rest Day

23rd May: Stage 16 – Rovetta to Mornio (222km)
24th May: Stage 17 – Tirano to Canazei (219km)
25th May: Stage 18 – Moena to Ortisei/St. Ulrich (137km)
26th May: Stage 19 – San Candido/Innichen to Piancavallo (191km)
27th May: Stage 20 – Pordenone to Asiago (190km)
28th May: Stage 21 – Monza to Milano ITT (29.3km)

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