Diego Rosa on his Giro goals
A very talented rider, part of a new generation that Italy hopes to shine in the seasons to come, Diego Rosa is racing his second Giro d’Italia and hopes to continue to impress, like he did in 2013, when he finished 23th, despite being a debutant and having to help his team leader, Franco Pellizotti. A former winner of the Giro della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia, the young rider from Piedmont took some time before the start of the Corsa Rosa for the following interview, in which he talked about his season, his training, and goals he has for the first Grand Tour of the year.
– Diego, you didn’t have a good start of the season, crashing in the Tour Méditerranéen.
Indeed, I didn’t have the perfect start, but even this is part of the game. When this happens, the best you can do is continue the training and don’t think of that single event. I did the best I could during last winter, because I wanted to be ready for the season. I just wasn’t so lucky!
– Six weeks later, you scored a very impressive result in the individual time trial of the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali. Was it a surprise for you?
A part of me was surprised, because I know I’m not the best in individual time trial. But the feeling was good at the start, so I did my best and the 3rd place was a very good result.
– Are you satisfied with how things went in the Giro del Trentino?
Of course I am! The Giro del Trentino is the last stage race before the Giro d’Italia, the feeling was good every morning and the day after the finish I was ready to continue. In Italian we have a saying: “I feel the leg”. I had the feeling that I could start another stage race and that satisfied me a lot!
– Where did you train before the Giro?
We stayed for ten days in Sierra Nevada, at 2400m, and other ten days in Trentino, after the Giro, in Maso Corto – Val Senales, at 3200m. We did a recon of the Barbaresco-Barolo, Biella (Santuario d’Oropa), Savona, and Sestola stages.
– You’ll now start the Giro for the second time in your career. With what thoughts?
I hope everything will be fine. Me and Franco Pellizotti trained a lot together for the Giro and I hope our hard work pays. The idea is to always do the best I can. I want to do a good GC, but I also have some other goals.
– Based on the route, do you expect a harder race than last year?
I think it will be harder even if we have three rest days. Some stages are really hard and, you know, at the beginning of the Giro I’m always nervous, because this is not a normal race, this is the Giro d’Italia! The beginning will be very difficult, as I’m a climber, but I hope to do something in the mountains.
– Will the Barolo ITT be a special motivation for you, as it passes through Alba?
I hope to have a good performance, because this is my home town! My family, my friends, and my girlfriend will be there. Sometimes, a hug is the perfect motivation to continue. During the winter I’ve trained for the ITT and as I said before, I went to ride the Barbaresco-Barolo course for a couple of times. I just hope I will not forget something.
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