Sport Director Dario Cioni is full of praise for the way Team Sky bounced back from adversity to finish the Giro d’Italia with momentum and a trip to the podium.

Stage nine will be remembered as the turning point in the race for a number of riders, but particularly Team Sky, after a large crash on the run-in to Blockhaus left no less than six team members on the ground.
 
With co-leaders Mikel Landa and Geraint Thomas losing time and riding hurt to the finish that day, the team were forced to accept that their goal of contending for overall victory at the Italian Grand Tour had been ripped from their grasp.
 
Yet despite the disappointment and setbacks across the three weeks, Team Sky emerged with a stage victory for Mikel Landa, who also picked up a second consecutive mountains jersey for the team.
 
“If we go back to the goals we had in Sardinia, what we’ve achieved in the end is pretty different. It wasn’t the easiest run,” Cioni admitted to TeamSky.com.
 
“The team performance was really shaped by the accident before Blockhaus. In one split second we had two GC contenders out of the game and most of the team on the ground.
 
“Since then it’s been a rollercoaster, but the instinct of the team has been to always fight back. The first hit was on that day, losing a lot of time with Mikel and quite a bit of time with G. 
 
“We restarted with the goal of trying to keep up there on the GC and see where G could get to. Then obviously after a great performance by G in the time trial we had another blow with him having to pull out of the race. Then we had to start from scratch – but the team was determined not to come away from the race empty handed.”
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Dario Cioni

Dario Cioni

It’s been a rollercoaster, but the instinct of the team has been to always fight back.
The emphasis quickly switched to getting up the road, riding more aggressively and entering breakaways in a bid to pick up a stage win.
 
Cioni continued: “A stage win was an immediate goal and also there was a possibility of the mountains jersey. We really went all out for a stage win. We came away with third in Oropa, second in Bormio. It began to look like it wasn’t to be, then we took second again! We knew we were close, but at least the mountains jersey was coming our way. Then finally we managed to finish it off, maybe on one of the stages we didn’t expect it to happen, given how the racing had gone that day at the midway point. But Mikel was ready to take the opportunity when it arrived. He sealed the mountains jersey and won the stage in a day which was fantastic.
 
“The other big thing was that, in every stage where Mikel was on the attack, he was really well supported by the team. He had team-mates driving the breaks he was in, and even though he had GC guys chasing him down, he had to fight hard to keep them away but he still managed it. In the stage he won Sebastian (Henao) was really really important in his success.”
The team spirit always remained despite a 'rollercoaster' Giro

The team spirit always remained despite a 'rollercoaster' Giro

With the riders showing plenty of good character and strong legs across the three weeks, Cioni believes that all the ingredients remain for the team to make a run at the maglia rosa that has so far proved elusive to the team.
 
“Mikel, G and all the team members showed they had a really good physical condition to be right up there in the race. For sure if we’d been lucky enough to be in a leadership position or have the jersey, the team would have been able to support either G or Mikel in that role. At the end of the day all the riders have had their own chance in the race, as well as doing a great job to support the leaders. 
 
“At the same time all the staff did a really incredible job, especially with the extra feed zones, and always being there, supporting the guys and making sure in the hardest moments everyone really felt they had all the support from the team.”
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