Cafe Roubaix

Serghei Tvetcov: “I want to finish the Giro”

One of the two Romanians to ride the 98th Giro d’Italia, Serghei Tvetcov came at the start of the event with confidence, after blending in the pro peloton of the European scene during his first four months with Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, the team for which he signed after having an impressive season in the UCI America Circuit in 2014. With the Italian outfit he got to ride some of the most important races of the calendar, and even scored a strong result in the Tour de San Luis individual time trial, where he came fourth.

Last week, before coming at the start of the Giro d’Italia – where he’s the only non-Italian cyclist of Androni – I got to talk to Serghei about his time so far with Gianni Savio’s squad and his goals for the Corsa Rosa, which marks his debut in a Grand Tour.

– Serghei, how were your first months with Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec?

They were amazing. The way the team is organized is really great and I got to do a lot of big races. I feel great with this group of people. The guys are nice, the sports directors are doing an excellent job, people are serious, but also know how to have fun. Of course, I need to gain a lot of experience in terms of racing, culture, nutrition and training, because every little detail counts, from your weight to your recovery and bike position. In my opinion, in Europe it’s impossible to have results if you have an extra 1-2 kg, you really can’t be at the top and can’t recover between races. Here you have to carefully choose in which events you are going to get a good result and in which just to train. So, coming back to the question, I think that this team really fits me and I can become a much stronger rider here, and for this reason I’m very glad that I decided to sign with Androni.

– What was the best racing experience up until this point of the season?

When it comes to one-day races, I must say Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo, especially as I want to do good in these races in the future. As for stage races, my prime pick is the Giro del Trentino, which has some great roads and views.

– Are you nervous before the Giro d’Italia, your first Grand Tour?

Actually, I’m not. I am pretty calm and I’m really looking forward to do the best I can for the team. A Grand Tour is a race that separates the boys from the real men.

– And how did you prepare for this?

I had a pretty busy racing schedule since January, because in my opinion, the best preparation is to race. Besides that, I focused on losing weight, while keeping my power.

– Did you get do a recon of some stages?

Yes, I had the chance to see the 18th stage (ed. – Melide-Verbania), but of course, in order for this to help me, I first need to get to the third week.

– What are your goals for the race?

My main goal is to finish the 21 stages, then to support our captain Franco Pellizotti and to learn, to get experience, which will help me in the future to get nice results. Besides that, I want to feature in some breakaways.