Damiano Caruso told us about it a few weeks ago of the importance of the rest day at dawn of the Pisa time trial"Having a time trial after a rest day isn't easy," the Sicilian told us. "The general classification riders will have to manage the break as best they can so as not to arrive with tired legs and lose time."
Il Tour of Italy It is long and full of pitfalls and often these are hidden in the most unexpected moments. Having a day off can be beneficial for the mind, but a pitfall for the legs. Curious about how to manage this particular moment, we went directly to Michele Bartoli. The Tuscan, who is at home in Lucca, is the trainer of Tiberi and Caruso, among othersThe two Italians of Bahrain Victorious are currently both in the rankings and tomorrow's time trial will be the watershed moment. After the Siena stage (opening photo), Ciociaro is currently in third place 17″ behind Ayuso and 1'30” behind Del Toro.
Let's get right into the details: how is Tiberi managing his day today?
Complete rest is always inadvisable. Better to go for a bike ride and stay activeIf you stop after ten stages, you risk doing what happens when a car crashes into a guardrail: everything gets destroyed. In this case, we're talking about the work already done.
Tell us better ...
The athletes' bodies are accustomed to certain paces and specific efforts during the Giro. Stopping completely would mean halting a process and suddenly changing the metabolismBasically, I don't contemplate doing nothing; my concept of "active rest" still means getting on the bike.
What should be done?
In my opinion, you need to include a good pedal stroke with some work, such as lactate production and other small things. With Antonio (Tiberi, ed.) we talk about pedaling for a couple of hours, even two and a half hours., and in the exit we insert some uphill activations.
Is there a risk of not performing up to par?
If a rider potentially he has a 400 watt average time trial in his legs and finishes it at 380 watts is a problem. From my point of view this is also the first real time trial of the Giro, that of Tirana it was atypical and those who wanted to take a little more risk emerged.
So the rest day becomes another stage?
In a certain sense, yes. Not for the efforts on the bike but for the routine: breakfast, bike, massages and certainly a part of recoveryThe Giro hasn't been particularly challenging so far, so today Tiberi will do his usual warm-up ride with some work in Z3. He'll be on the bike for between two and two and a half hours.
What do you think of this time trial? Do you think it's suitable for Tiberi?
It's a very straight course, so its good aerodynamics can definitely be exploited to the fullest. Then there's a virtually imperceptible climb, at one or two percent. There will be a lot of pushing to do there and Tiberi is very good in that aspect too.The descent is short, very short, with four corners to be taken at speed. It allows a brief respite and then you get back on the straight and push again. It's definitely a time trial for specialists who can create big gaps, that's why it's important to be prepared.
