Team NetApp comes in eighth at the Giro del Trentino Team Time Trial
At the opening Team Time Trial of the Giro del Trentino, Team NetApp had to be content with eighth place after suffering two damaged tires. The 14.3-kilometer course saw BMC eventually finish fastest with a time of 15:50, with second and third places going to Astana and Colnago CSF.
Today marked the first day of the tour and the rain that had been predicted stayed away, but strong winds meant the stretch from Riva del Garda to Arco was still tough. Team NetApp was the last team to start, and the first seven kilometers of the race initially went according to plan. “Then we had two incidents of tire damage with Andreas Dietziker and Matthias Brändle. That was the deciding point in the race. Brändle in particular is a good time trial rider and we had set our hopes on him today. The two breakdowns cost us a place on the podium,” explains Sport Director Enrico Poitschke with disappointment. Team NetApp eventually finished the race with a time of 16:14 and were therefore 24 seconds behind the winners BMC.
Tomorrow’s second stage of the Giro del Trentino takes the peloton over a 152-kilometer course from Mori to Sant’Orsola Terme. Two mountains classifications are on the agenda, one in category one and another in category two, before the race ends with a summit finish. “It will certainly be a tense race; anyone who loses time here no longer has any chance in the overall rankings,” according to Poitschke.
stage 1, 17 April: TTT Riva del Garda - Arco, 14.3 km
stage 2, 18 April: Mori – Sant’Orsola Terme, 152 km
stage 3, 19 April: Pergine – Brenzone, 167.8 km
stage 4, 20 April: Castelletto di Brenzone – Passo Pordoi, Val di Fassa, 177.5 km
