Great Close-Up of Axel Merckx(Click to Enlarge)
Two dropouts during the rest day before Stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia: Axel Merckx and Bradley McGee. From Eurosport:
After suffering a disappointing end to Stage 10 on Tuesday, Phonak's Merckx said:
"The next few stages are guarded, I'm going to pull out. There may be other stages that suit me, but not in the last week, because I won't be there." (Why is it that there always seems to be something lost in the translation?)
And here's a warning for Ivan Basso:
"This Giro is too hard for those who want to achieve something at the Tour [de France]."
As you Giro fans remember, the Belgian was out-ridden in the final 150 meters of Stage 10 on Tuesday by a chasing group lead by eventual winner Franco Pellizotti after having held them off following his attack 17k from the line. "At 300 metres, I still believed in it [the win] because they were late in reducing the gap," said the 33-year old Belgian.
How does he feel about the near miss a day later?
"Bad, very bad, I thought I had a chance. I went from the feeling of hope to utter rage, but that's cycling, you have to accept these things."
As for McGee, he has never really recovered from his fall in the Criterium International in late March, according to Martial Gayant, sporting director of Francais des Jeux (sounds like a breakfast drink to me!). "The pain is still present, it goes from the base of his back upwards. He's worried because the Tour de France is near."
The question is: Is Basso worried?
After suffering a disappointing end to Stage 10 on Tuesday, Phonak's Merckx said:
"The next few stages are guarded, I'm going to pull out. There may be other stages that suit me, but not in the last week, because I won't be there." (Why is it that there always seems to be something lost in the translation?)
And here's a warning for Ivan Basso:
"This Giro is too hard for those who want to achieve something at the Tour [de France]."
As you Giro fans remember, the Belgian was out-ridden in the final 150 meters of Stage 10 on Tuesday by a chasing group lead by eventual winner Franco Pellizotti after having held them off following his attack 17k from the line. "At 300 metres, I still believed in it [the win] because they were late in reducing the gap," said the 33-year old Belgian.
How does he feel about the near miss a day later?
"Bad, very bad, I thought I had a chance. I went from the feeling of hope to utter rage, but that's cycling, you have to accept these things."
As for McGee, he has never really recovered from his fall in the Criterium International in late March, according to Martial Gayant, sporting director of Francais des Jeux (sounds like a breakfast drink to me!). "The pain is still present, it goes from the base of his back upwards. He's worried because the Tour de France is near."
The question is: Is Basso worried?
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