Loss of three riders complicates assembling Giro d'Italia squad
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Team NetApp's Grischa Janorschke in action(Image credit: Team NetApp)
Team NetApp sets the pace in the peloton.(Image credit: Sirotti)
Team NetApp on the podium after winning the team time trial(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Team NetApp's build-up to the 2012 Giro d'Italia deviated from its smooth path and hit a number of bumps – literally. Three injured riders in the month of April posed problems for the German Professional Continental team as it prepared for its first grand tour.
“After the success in Italy, reality is about to rear its ugly head,” according to the latest installment of Against All Odds, the video series about the team. The team had finally attained its first wins at the ProConti level, dominating the Settimana Coppi e Bartali the end of March.
From there, the team headed to a totally different kind of race: Paris-Roubaix, where they were up against the best of the best. There they were lucky enough to get Grischa Janorschke in the break group of the day.
But a cobblestone burst one of his tyres, and he went flying, ending up with a broken elbow. And that wasn't the end of the bad news During the race, team manager Ralph Denk got word that Leo König, who was to be the team's GC candidate at the Giro, would be unable to ride due to back problems.
And only days after Barta continued his winning streak by soloing to victory in Rund um Köln, the team also learned that new signing Marcel Wyss was ill and would not be available for the Giro.
“The bad times always prevail,” noted Denk, who then faced the difficulty of assembling his squad for Italy.
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