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Last Updated: May 10th, 2008 - 00:02:18 |
Having ridden well in his Grand Tour debut last season, Philip Deignan will continue his progression as a pro cyclist when he starts the three-week Giro d’Italia this weekend.
The 24 year old Ag2r La Mondiale competitor finished tenth, twelfth and sixteenth on stages of last year’s Tour of Spain and was a solid 71st overall. He had a tough start to this season but more recently showed good form in the Giro del Trentino in Italy. He was 20th on the tough 178.6 kilometre mountain leg to Peio Terme and finished 26th overall there.
If his form continues to rise, Deignan’s climbing ability means he could register more solid performances in the high mountains. The Giro d’Italia begins on Saturday with a 23.6 kilometre team time trial in Palermo, Sicily, and then one day later features a hilly leg between Cefalù and Agrigento
Irishcycling.com had a quick chat with him on Friday:
Shane Stokes: Philip, you have been riding well lately but things were tougher for you at the start of the year. What was the reason for that?
Philip Deignan: I think I might have over-done it over the winter. That is really the only explanation I have for it. I did a good winter, looking after myself, but I just felt really tired all the time when it came to the races. It just felt like I had nothing my legs.
Then I got sick with a vomiting bug in Paris-Nice. I was dead for a week, lying on the couch, and then I was sent straight to a stage race in Italy. I wasn’t really ready to do that, and then the team sent me straight from there to Pays-Basques. In those races, if you are not 100% you don’t have a chance.
SS: Things picked up then...
PD: Yes, I had a good showing in the Tour of Trentino a week or ten days ago. I had a good break after the Tour of Pays Basques and felt like I was coming around a little bit. In Trentino I was feeling a lot better, so hopefully I should be better again for the Giro.
SS: What are your aims?
PD: Looking at the profile of this race and the Vuelta, it is a lot harder here and the stages are a lot longer. There are a lot more mountains. I will just take it day by day and see how I feel. I’d love to go for a top 30 in the general classification. I will find out pretty soon…if that is not possible, I am not going to ride flat out every day just to finish 40th or 50th overall.
If I can’t finish in the top 30, I will try to go for a stage win.
SS: How does your form compare to the Vuelta?
PD: I think it is a bit better. I did the Vuelta last year after the Tour of Germany and the Tour of Ireland. I started the race pretty tired as a result. In theory I should be better this year; I’ve got some good racing done and then got a good break in these last ten days. My form should be better [than at the Vuelta] but in cycling, you never know. We will see...
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