Different role at Giro d'Italia for Uran

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Seventh overall in the Giro d’Italia in 2012, Rigoberto Uran has said that he will enter this year’s event with the sole intention of helping his Sky teammate Bradley Wiggins take the maglia rosa.

last year Uran also claimed the white jersey of best young rider, while his fellow countryman and teammate Sergio Henao finished 9th in Milan. The two Colombians will be Wiggins’ key domestiques in the Dolomites this time around.

“This year will be different because I will be fully available to the team,” Uran told Biciciclismo. “I won’t be thinking about the general classification but maybe I can look for a stage win if it’s possible. Things are clear this year: we’re going to work for Bradley, as he can win the Giro. The task for me and Henao will be to help him in the mountains in a very hard final week.”

Uran also enjoyed considerable success in one-day races last year, taking silver at the London 2012 Olympics, winning Gran Piemonte and finishing third at the Tour of Lombardy. He will be hoping to continue that form at the Ardennes classics, although his first objectives will come at a pair of week-long stage races.

“The idea is to be going well for Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya, two WorldTour races that I know and where I want to be at the front,” Uran said. “I’m not sure if I’ll do the Tour of the Basque Country, but afterwards, I’ll do the three Ardennes classics and the Giro.”

Uran began his 2013 campaign with three days of racing at the Trofeo Mallorca, and he now lines up at the Volta ao Algarve, which gets underway on Wednesday. With a 34km time trial preceding the summit finish at the Alto do Malhão, Uran admitted that making a serious impact on general classification might prove difficult.

“I think the time trial will define the race and there are strong riders like Tony Martin there,” he said. “But we’ll try on the mountain stage.”