It didn't look good for Joaquim Rodriguez after the finish(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Joaquim Rodríguez at the start giving high fives(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Joaquim Rodríguez catches up on the news(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Joaquim Rodriguez pedals toward the finish(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Joaquim Rodríguez main goal for the season was the Giro d'Italia but after the Spaniard crashed out of the race he was forced to set himself new targets with the Tour de France and Vuelta both options.
After Rodríguez left to Giro, the Katusha team needed to change plans "We were sad to have lost 'Purito' at the beginning of the race, " Katusha team manager Viatcheslav Ekimov said. "For future races we realize we need to have a B plan in place."
The Russian told Eurosport Russia that Rodríguez' next goal will be the Vuelta."His main for the remainder of the season is the overall classification in the Vuelta."
Ridriguez came into the Giro with two broken ribs from his crash in the Amstel Gold Race. He broke an additional one and his thumb in the sixth stage to Montecassino. The 35-yearold had surgery on his thumb in the days after.
In December Ekimov stated that Rodríguez would not participate in the Tour de France but his crash in the Giro changes things. The Spaniard has not decided yet. "One month until the Tour. Today we do a more demanding training session. The next days will be key in taking decisions." he wrote on his Twitter page.
For Ekimov the Giro d'Italia showed that starting a race with a plan but not having a back-up plan, is something to be avoided in the future.
"We were sad to have lost 'Purito' at the beginning of the race but it was important to move past that right away. We saw the team was still active for the rest of the Giro and it’s very hard to do that – come with one plan in mind and then have to completely refocus on another plan. For future races we realize we need to have a B plan in place and we will do that.”
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The Tour de France will see Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff take on Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish, André Greipel and Peter Sagan for the green jersey. "We will go the Tour de France with a sprinter's train. The green jersey is Kristoff's goal," Ekimov told Eurosport.
