Published on : 05/29/2022
The Cofidis riders finished the Giro on Sunday after a time trial in Verona. Guillaume Martin, who fought hard until the end, finished 14th overall and best French rider. We will have to wait a little more than a month now to get back to the fever of a big Tour with the Tour de France.
It's never trivial for a professional rider to finish a major Tour. It's the result of multiple efforts, surpassing oneself and a great proof of resistance. At the end of this Giro, Cofidis is one of the six teams to have kept all its riders, since the start in Budapest.
Six top 10 finishes for Consonni
Although this Giro was particularly tough, Cofidis team came close to victory several times, especially in the bunch sprints. Simone Consonni finished in the top 10 six times and took third place in Reggio Emilia (stage 11). Davide Cimolai, who supported him several times in the final, also distinguished himself in Treviso (7th, 18th stage).
For the first Giro of his career, Guillaume Martin experienced a rollercoaster ride. However, the rider from Normandy never gave up. In the second week, his 9th place in Naples (8th stage) allowed him to be in the top 10 of the general classification for the next 6 stages. He also distinguished himself in Cogne (10th, 15th stage), in Lavaronne (9th, 17th stage) and then in Castelmonte (7th, 19th stage).
He finished the Giro in the top 15 of the general classification, 14th place, 28 min 37 behind the pink jersey, Jai Hindley. He kept this position after the final time trial, which took place on Sunday in the streets of Verona (17.4 km). All the Cofidis riders worked hard and with great dedication and commitment to achieve this result. Guillaume Martin finished in 33rd place, 2:08 behind the winner, Matteo Sobrero, which shows the relevance of the work done for months by the performance unit in respect to time-trials. From now on, all the riders will focus on recovering well and taking a break after racing on the Italian roads. The numbers are staggering: in three weeks, they have covered 3,445.6 km and resisted 50,580 meters of positive altitude difference.
THEY SAID
Guillaume Martin :
« I am happy with the way I finished this Giro today as it was one of my best performances. The final result is disappointing though. I came here to perform well in the general classification and I only finished 14th. I think my physical condition was not so bad but I was running a little bit backwards during the whole Giro. It's frustrating and at the same time it's an experience for the future. It's a beautiful race in a beautiful country with a lot of altitude difference. In a race like this, I think you have to be patient and know that the gaps are created in the third week so you don't spend too much energy quickly . »
Cédric Vasseur, General Manager :
« We came to the Giro aiming for a 'top 5' in the overall classification and we are obviously frustrated that we did not achieve this. Nevertheless, we are satisfied with our eight riders who made it to the finish in one of the most difficult Giro's in recent years. We also saw great performances from Guillaume Martin, like in Naples, and from Simone Consonni who joined the battle for the stage victory in many sprints. We also learned a lot about racing as a team around a leader, we really saw us united around Guillaume. What I will remember, above all, is that everyone gave their best. From now on, we will focus on recovering and analyzing everything that happened at the Giro before tackling the Tour de France with new ambitions, including the victory. »