Fernando Gaviria confirmed that he will start the 2019 Giro d’Italia on May 11 in Bologna.
“With great pleasure, I will return to the roads of the Giro d’Italia, which I feel a special relationship with. With the 2017 Giro, my career took its international dimension,” Gaviria said. “The points classification jersey and the four stage victories lifted me into the elite sprinters’ group. Those were beautiful and very important moments for me, the thought of having the chance to relive them is exciting“.
The Colombian sprinter has clear objectives for the coming grand tour.
“In the first part of the Giro, the stages will offer sprinters a good number of opportunities. As often happens in the Giro, there will be no straightforward stages, so even we sprinters, and our teams, will always have to fight for the sprint finish. The goal is to make the most of the opportunities to compete in sprints. It will be very difficult to fight for the points classification, because the second part of the Giro will be almost exclusively for the climbers“.
Gaviria greeted the Giro project immediately with enthusiasm when it came about.
“Given Fabio Aru could not race, the team shifted the focus from the general classification to stages. This meant that the directors had the opportunity to add a nice group dedicated to the sprints to the group it already had hunting stages. It seemed like a good project, able to offer me all the necessary conditions to do well. I had no doubts and I confirmed to the team my desire to race in Italy”.
Gaviria considers that the Giro will be an important junction between the first and second part of the season.
“Participation in the Giro is balanced within my season. The missed Paris-Roubaix participation due to an illness closed the first part of my season earlier. I observed a period of rest and then resumed training with good sensations. The Giro d’Italia will be a highlight of my first year in the team, then we’ll think about the second part of the season“.
Next week, UAE Team Emirates will disclose the complete line-up for the Giro d’Italia.
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