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After a courageous solo escape for over 50 kilometers in cold and rainy conditions, Katusha Team’s Maxim Belkov won Stage 9 from San Sepolcro of the 2013 Giro d’Italia to Firenze on his Canyon Aeroad CF. “I am really happy about my result today. I was really hard to stay away today, but I kept my rhythm going and was able to win. I have to dedicate this to my team and to the Russian Global Cycling Project. It is my first win as a profession so it is something special.”

Originally from Izhevsk, the hometown of 1996 Giro d’Italia winner Pavel Tonkov, 28 year old Belkov was in the main escape of the day, then went away with two other riders, but went his own in a solo break, a perfect scenario for his Canyon Aeroad. Belkov’s was a planned attack as he explained post-race “Although I’m a time trial specialist, I decided that yesterday’s time trial was very hard. I looked at the road book and I thought a breakaway might get away today, and I thought it would be better to save my legs and try to get into it. I thought that was the best use of my energy.”

But Belkov was never certain of victory until he crossed the finsih line. “I knew they were riding very hard behind me, and I was never certain I would win. I simply did the best I could. In the final 2 km, I had so much cramp I could hardly think.” Belkov, who has been with Katusha Team since 2012, lives in Prato, near Firenze and came from the famous Russian cycling school of Udmurtia and was European U23 TT champion in 2007. Monday May 13th is the first rest day at the Giro d’Italia, with Tuesday May 13th the first mountain stage from Cordenons to Altopiano di Montasio.

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Katusha Team’s Luca Paolini has the Maglia Rosa of Giro d’Italia leadership for another day after Stage 6 of the Giro. Katusha Team sport director Valerio Piva told Italian TV, “I am really pleased at the way Luca Paolini and the entire Katusha Team is riding at this Giro d’Italia. Since I came to Katusha, I have seen Luca grow as a team leader. He is a very serious, very professional rider, who has made many sacrifices and ridden for others his entire career. It’s great to see him get this recognition, the Maglia Rosa at the Giro d’Italia, for all he’s achieved throughout his career.”

After Thursday’s sprinters stage, Maglia Rosa Paolini explained, “This was a stage for the sprinters, so the GC contenders tried to stay up front to avoid the crashes. Katusha Team was perfect at keeping me at the front all day. We all know Friday will be a very difficult stage, but fortunately I am in good shape and I will ride it like a classics race. It’s really great to have so many tifosi (fans) screaming your name during the race and at the start or the finish, so I am very motivated and I want to keep the Maglia Rosa until the ITT on Saturday.”

Friday’s Stage Stage 7 at the Giro d’Italia is a hard and hilly race over 177km from Marina di San Salvo to Pescara, a stage in the hot interior of the March region with many climbs, including four categorized ascents in the last 60km.

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Katusha Team’s Luca Paolini is still wearing the Maglia Rosa of Giro d’Italia leadership, while his teammate Angel Vicioso came close to a stage win on the 5th stage of the Giro d’Italia on the 203km route from Cosenza to Matera, in southern Italy.

After completing the stage on his Canyon Ultimate CF SLX with special Maglia Rosa decals Paolini explained: “This stage was harder than we had expected because we experienced bad weather with a lot of rain, and the speed was high with some tough climbs before the finish in Matera. My Katusha team was great again and I am pleased because I kept the Maglia Rosa for another day. In the final kilometer, there was a crash and I couldn’t avoid it and got caught behind. It’s too bad, because the finale would have been good for me. I am also sorry for Angel Vicioso, who got so close to a win. The Katusha Team is working great together, so I think they deserve a victory too.”

In addition to Paolini’s Maglia Rosa, the Katusha Team is currently leading the Team Classification at the Giro d’Italia. Thursday’s Stage 6 is a flat, fast 169km ride up the Adriatic coast from Mola di Bari to Margherita di Savoia where Katusha Team’s Luca Paolini should maintain his Maglia Rosa.

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On a long Stage 4 of the 2013 Giro d’Italia stage that had a cold, rainy and hilly finale, Katusha Team’s Luca Paolini gallantly defended his Maglia Rosa of Giro d’Italia race lead. After riding his Canyon Ultimate CF 9.0, equipped with Canyon’s innovative VCLS 2.0 seat post over 246km of racing, Paolini finished 10th on the day. He talked about the day post-stage, saying “Today we knew it would be a difficult day, but my Katusha team was great, they believed me and supported me as Maglia Rosa. Katusha Team was on the front of the group from the start, so I am happy to have kept the Maglia Rosa for one more day.”

Paolini explained further, saying “It was actually very hard to keep the pink jersey today. It was very difficult for me, as the rain made the road slippery and dangerous. I knew it was a hard finish for me, at the limit of my possibilities. On the two climbs, I tried to stay up front as much as possible. My goal today was just trying to finish the stage up front without letting a gap open that might put my Maglia Rosa in danger. Today it wasn’t about winning the stage, but keeping the Maglia Rosa. Either way, I didn’t have the legs to sprint. But also I think Katusha Team is proving we deserved our WorldTour license.”
With the next few stages of the Giro d’Italia flat to rolling, Paolini has a great chance to stay pretty in pink until next Saturday’s individual time trial.

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