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On the way up: The Filippo Pozzato diary 2005
Twenty-three-year-old Filippo Pozzato is one of the Italian peloton's rising stars, with 19 victories already in his short career. Now in his fourth year as a pro and his first at Quick Step, the popular Pozzato is aiming to rack up more wins.
Filippo Pozzato
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www.pippopozzato.it
August 9, 2005
Giro del Lazio - An Imperial sprint
Ciao amici di Cyclingnews!
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My dream has become reality! After Hamburg, I've managed to win the Giro del Lazio! And even after I wasn't feeling good that day. It was really hot and in the last 20km, I had a heavy feeling and a headache. But I told myself "Pippo, just think about going as hard as you can" and that's how I made it! Once again, my Quick.Step team was marvellous, keeping me out of the wind and covering all the attacks in the final. Think about it; with 30km to go, Bettini came up to me and said "Tranquillo Pippo, today we'll bring you to the sprint and you're going to win it!". When a rider of the stature of Paolo Bettini, a real champion is riding for you, you can bet you will ride a lot more relaxed. I'm sorry for my teammate Paolini who had to stop with some resparatory problems; Gerva (his team nickname) is in excellent form these days. Before the start, we both were leaders, but Luca had to abandon.
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So I'm really happy now, because this win is another payback for all the hard work I did last month in Livigno; hours and hours on the bike with so many intervals I lost count...finally I'm on the right track. Like I said last week, this week is just the starting point to achieve other objectives and I'm not content with just these results. Now there might be a chance for me to ride the World Championships. Certainly I would like to participate, but before I do, I want to make my mark on a few other races.
My August continues with Clasica San Sebastian, a race that really isn't suited to me, but I still want to do well. Now I can't just hide in the group; the time has come to go for in it races like San Sebastian with long, tough climbs. I'm ready to find out how much I have to invest in this type of race to become a more complete rider. Down in Spain, our Quick.Step team will have riders like Bettini, Paolini, Moreni. All riders who can win there, and I hope to give them a hand. We'll see...
Ciao a tutti and thanks to everyone who had believed in me!
Pippo
