Australian's Amgen Tour of California preparation up and down
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Rory Sutherland again heads up the GC squad for another season.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Stage 3 podium: Diego Ulissi (Lampre - ISD) in first; Rory Sutherland (Unitedhealthcare) in second, Danilo Di Luca (Acqua&Sapone) in third(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
A young Rory Sutherland in his Rabobank days in 2005(Image credit: Sirotti)
UnitedHealthcare's Rory Sutherland along with teammate Chris Jones dropped out of the Giro del Trentino today after both riders suffered from a stomach bug since the Brabantse Pijl on April 11.
"Battled through a day and a half and called it enough today so I/we can recover before heading to the USA next week then [Tour of the] Gila and Tour of California," Sutherland told Cyclingnews. "Marc [de Maar] seems to be doing a good job without us so that's good."
De Maar is currently 18th overall after stage 3, which included the brutally steep Punta Veleno just before the finish line. With the Passo Pordoi (Category 1) featuring as the race's conclusion in tomorrow's stage, it made sense for the riders to save their energies for the two to recover and prepare for the team's major goal of the season, the Amgen Tour of California.
Sutherland, 30, came back to Europe for the second year in a row this spring, and took in the Volta ao Algarve, Settimana Coppi e Bartali, and now the Giro del Trentino along with several one-day races. He scored one of his best European results since his days on the Rabobank team, taking second on stage 2 of the Coppi e Bartali race, and putting in a respectable individual time trial.
But the roads of Europe are never smooth, as Sutherland says. "It's been ups and downs, sick riders, accidents, sometimes not the best races in preparation for Tour of California, but we've held it together well as a team. I've had my family in Girona for the last 3 months which obviously has helped a whole lot.
"It wouldn't be Europe without drama, hard racing, etcetera, anyway! We've had some good results through good team work a long the way so every little result helps spur you on for another few weeks."
The UnitedHealthcare team will change up, with the climbers coming home to take part in the UCI 2.2-ranked SRAM Tour of the Gila, while the fast men head east for the Presidential Tour of Turkey, April 22-29.
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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
