'Having someone like Pippo doesn't guarantee you a result like in the ITT' - Ineos look ahead to team time trial
The Ineos Grenadiers will certainly be among the top favourites for stage 5’s Vuelta TTT, thanks in part to riders such as Filippo Ganna. Cyclingnews spoke with Ineos assistant sports director Dario Cioni about how the British team is feeling ahead of the team effort.
“It’s a good bonus to have someone like Pippo, but it doesn’t guarantee you a result like in the individual time trial, because you also need to manage how you use him, and you don’t want him to destroy the other part of the team,” Cioni told Cyclingnews.
Ineos arrive in Figueres buoyed by Ben Turner’s stage victory over Jasper Philipsen on Tuesday, but the focus now shifts to a discipline that demands precision as much as power. With Egan Bernal sitting fourth overall, just 14 seconds off David Gaudu in red, the team see the TTT as a chance to consolidate GC ambitions. Alongside Ganna, Magnus Sheffield, Turner and Bernal himself form a core that could keep the British squad firmly in contention.
Cioni admitted that team time trials bring their own brand of tension. “That’s the bad thing and the beauty of the team time trials, this aspect that everyone is super nervous. Even Pippo [Ganna] will be nervous if he cannot contribute to the maximum for the team.
“I’m quite sure that if you go on the start line, it’s difficult to find any rider who is relaxed. The same thing also applies to staff – team time trials are also one of the most stressful days for race staff. It requires a lot of work, a lot of preparation, a lot of stress, but if you manage to make things good, then it is very satisfying.”
The stage covers 24.1 kilometres, short enough that margins are unlikely to be huge, but still significant in the GC picture. “Of course, you can lose around 30 seconds, which you can lose the Vuelta by, but it’s not that you will lose three or four minutes. I don’t think the Vuelta winner will be winning by less than 30 seconds in Madrid,” Cioni said.
The last team time trial in the Vuelta, in 2023, produced only small gaps between teams, though that course was 10 kilometres shorter. Reflecting on the evolution of the discipline, Cioni added: “In the past, they used to be 40 to 50km time trials on more challenging courses, which could give you bigger gaps. Today, all teams come with a good line-up to support their GC rider, and there’s a lot of studying, so the margins you can gain are less than in the past.”
