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Rain, rain, rain - and a sprint finish in the rain in Italy
Astana Pro Team Director Sportif Alexander Shefer drove 232km in the rain on Thursday, with eight professional cyclists dependent on him for jackets, gloves, warm drinks and encouragement in the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico.
Shefer said Astana Pro Team had planned for rain, and luckily the plan worked out.
"Not much to say about the stage today. It rained most of the stage, and the rain was especially heavy at the finish for the circuits. Everybody finished together, everybody was wet and cold, everybody is now spending the evening warming up and recovering for tomorrow," Shefer said.
All Astana Pro Team riders finished with the leaders on Thursday - a mass sprint in Indicatore where Australian rider Matthew Goss charged to the finish line first in five hours and forty eight minutes.
"Tomorrow is a bit different, but the forecast calls for more rain. We're watching Dmitriy Gruzdev's injuries after his crash in the team time trial, but he was able to ride without much pain today and he should be better after a couple of days. The race will really get started in the mountains, and we will put our real race plan into action to defend Vincenzo Nibali's title here as champion," Shefer said.
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