The opening week of action at the 2012 Giro d'Italia was en eventful one for Team Sky, and sporting director Steven De Jongh has declared himself pleased with the performances of his riders.
The race began well last weekend when Geraint Thomas finished second in the opening time trial and the team enjoyed further success when Mark Cavendish subsequently sprinted to victory in stage two and stage five. With today's ninth stage also suiting the sprinters, hopes are high in the camp that Cavendish can strike again, while the team also has two riders in the top 15 of the general classification. Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Henao lie 11th and 14th respectively so there is much to play for. The Columbian duo both earned top 20 finishes in yesterday's punishing eighth stage, and both riders are ready for the easier and flatter terrain that they will face today according to De Jongh.
"It was a really good performance from both Rigo and Sergio and it's nice to see them moving up the GC," De Jongh told the Team Sky official website after yesterday's stage.
"They've got a few days now where it should be little bit less stressful for them before the big climbing stages come later in the race. We've got two wins from Cav, a second place for Geraint and Rigo right up there on the GC which all adds up to a pretty successful week. But now it’s all about looking forward and let’s hope we can start week two with a win as tomorrow's stage [Monday] is a big chance for Mark again.
"Cav showed again today that he’s really bounced back well from that tough day on Friday [when he, Bernhard Eisel and Jeremy Hunt had to work hard to make the time limit] so it’s looking good. "
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