Pink jersey apologises for "mistake"

Image 1 of 2

Enrico Gasparotto came to realise just a few hours after taking his first pink jersey that he had done something the Italian media would love by creating some useless polemics. Gasparotto did the unthinkable and crossed the line ahead of his team captain, Danilo Di Luca, who was visibly angry at the finish.

Despite Di Luca later conceding that it was "a great team win" and saying "I was not upset, it is important that we as a team win," the media continued to try to make a drama out of the issue, much to the chagrin of the 25 year-old former Italian champion. "So, you have put me on a cross, right?" Gasparotto asked.

Gasparotto confessed that he made a mistake, but insisted that it wasn't an intentional grab for the leader's position. "I didn't hear Danilo asking me to slow down," Gasparotto said. "I made a mistake to be there. The great champion is him, not me. It's been him to want to take the last turn in the hill, then it was up to me to be in the front of the team in the downhill.

"I heard the speaker saying that it was very tight, that's why I kept pedalling until the end. When you see the finishing line, you don't brake. I never had in mind that the first rider to cross the line would wear the pink jersey. My other mistake was to forget that the team's time was taken on the fifth rider, not the first one anyway."

Gasparotto said that he is fully committed to the team. "I got excited by the idea of winning," he continued. "The most important is the team win. We've been doing great since the beginning of the year. It was our goal to do well in the team time trial. Our second goal is to bring our leaders, Danilo Di Luca and Franco Pellizotti, to the top of the classification."

Gasparotto is also Liquigas' sprinter. "I'm not a pure sprinter but I also heard that stage 2 isn't for pure sprinters", he said, aware that he could even be a winner in Bosa with the pink jersey on his shoulders. "I came to the Giro with a good condition, I was confident anyway and I'll do my best to stay close to my team captains in the hills. I have to repay what has happened today."

After saying that, he asked the crowd, "Can I come down from my cross?"