Voeckler going for stages

By Shane Stokes in La Maddalena

Former French champion Thomas Voeckler got his 2007 Giro d'Italia underway today with the team time trial held on the island of Sardinia. His Bouygues Telecom team finished 19th, 2'07 back. He said that the conditions made it harder for the riders.

"The time trial was difficult. I had good legs, but the problem was that with the wind and the tough course, it was not easy to keep everyone together," he told Cyclingnews. "There are some riders in better shape than the others, especially in the first few days of the race, yet we needed to keep five together in the time trial."

"It wasn't fantastic but we will hope to do better in other stages."

Many of the riders criticised the parcours for its severity. Voeckler played that down, to an extent. "The course wasn't really dangerous because we know how to ride our bikes, but the wind made it more so. It was difficult to organise everyone to work because of that. If it was an individual time trial there would not be a problem, but with a team it is hard to organise so well with these conditions."

There is a plus to the location, though: "I think that when people watch the Giro on television it will be very spectacular, what with the countryside and the small islands surrounded by turquoise water, plus strong teams. Cycling needs spectacular images now."

He concluded his brief chat by talking about his aims in the race. "I think like every rider, I would like to win a stage. I don't have the power to go for the general classification, but I would really like to get a stage. That said, there are many other riders who would also like the same thing."