Dan Martin’s Israel Start-Up Nation has confirmed, if confirmation was needed, that it will defend the Giro d'Italia maglia rosa which is now on the shoulders of its Italian rider Alessandro de Marchi.
Based on the stage routes in coming days it is very
possible De Marchi, who is a strong climber, could hold the jersey into the
weekend at least.
If that is the case, Irish cycling fans will be hoping Dan
Martin won’t get too involved, if at all, in riding for De Marchi. This Giro
gets progressively harder and the Irishman is riding for the general
classification.
However, having now taken the lead – especially with a rider who really deserves it and can get over many climbs in good shape – the team was quick to say it was a huge milestone for it and that it would look to keep pink.
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“We are making history with our first leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour, – a spectacular achievement that I knew we could do,” said team co-owner Sylvan Adams.
Judging by the course in the coming days, De Marchi will
fancy his chances of holding the jersey until the start of Sunday’s stage at
least; something Dan Martin probably wasn’t expecting when he started this
Giro.
Such a long spell in the leader’s jersey would mop up a lot of the team’s reserves for the racing to come, especially as it lost Krists Neilands to a crash after the stage 1 TT on Saturday.
And most of those reserves were earmarked for Dan Martin as he is the team’s general classification rider. But it should be said taking the race lead is a huge boost for the team and something it should, and will, embrace.
Of course, one incident on the road, a breakaway gaining
time or an attack at an unexpected time from some of the general classification
men could all shift De Marchi from the maglia rosa at any time. It is truly impossible
to predict, especially if the weather is bad.
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If De Marchi were to lose the maglia rosa sooner than expected, concerns about some of Martin’s team resources being spent so early in the race would come to nothing.
? Second place for @ADM_RossodiBuja who is the new leader of @giroditalia!
Bravo Dema!! ??
_____
?? #Giro pic.twitter.com/1HJg8zRyA5— Israel Start-Up Nation / Israel Cycling Academy (@TeamIsraelSUN) May 11, 2021
But there is no doubt Martin now has factors to consider
that he didn’t have 24 hours ago – even if those factors are really positive
ones in the shape of the race lead, which was earned and is deserved by De Marchi.
Today’s stage’s stage 5 – some 177km from Modena to Cattolica - is a flat one that should suit the
sprinters. When a breakaway goes up the road Israel Start-Up Nation should get
some help from the sprinters’ teams.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, the riders face 160km on stage
6 from Grotte di Frasassi to Ascoli Piceno (San Giacomo). The
stage features a cat 2 and a cat 3, one after the other with no descent to
speak of, before the final climb to the finish. That last climb is a cat 2 of
15.5km with an average gradient of almost 7 per cent. It’s a stage where De
Marchi will fancy his chances of holding onto his lead.
If he gets over tomorrow, Friday’s stage
7 is 181km from Notaresco to Termoli
with no significant climbs. And while Saturday’s stage 8 – some 170km from Foggia
to Guardia Sanframondi – is on lumpier terrain and finishes on a cat 4 climb,
again it’s a course De Marchi should be able to handle.
Sunday’s stage 9 looks much harder, some
158km from Castel di Sangro to Campo Felice (Rocca di Cambio). It concludes on
a cat 1 and we should see some general classification action on that climb or
maybe even before it. If that happens, and even if De Marchi was still in pink
starting on Sunday, it will be a stern challenge for him to hold it.
In the days ahead, all going well for him and the team,
De Marchi could hold onto the race lead until at least the start of Sunday’s
stage. That is followed by a rest day on Monday and then several tough stages,
but with no big mountains, before the Zoncolan big finish on stage
14 ten days from now.
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