Domenico Pozzovivo

Domenico Pozzovivo

Pozzovivo at the 2012 Tour de Pologne
Personal information
Full name Domenico Pozzovivo
Born (1982-11-30) November 30, 1982
Policoro, Italy
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight 53 kg (117 lb; 8.3 st)[1]
Team information
Current team AG2R La Mondiale
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type Climber
Professional team(s)
2005–2012 Ceramica Panaria–Navigare
2013– Ag2r–La Mondiale
Major wins

Grand Tours

Giro d'Italia
1 individual stage (2012)

Stage races

Giro del Trentino (2012)
Infobox last updated on
29 April 2014

Domenico Pozzovivo (born 30 November 1982) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam AG2R La Mondiale.[2] His very small stature confer him with the qualities of a pure climbing specialist. He is most known for a victory in stage 8 of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, an overall victory in the 2012 Giro del Trentino, and is notable for his high education.[3]

Personal life

Pozzovivo has a degree in economics and wrote a thesis entitled "Southern politics from the unity of Italy up to now". His high education has earned him the nickname "Dr. Pozzovivo" in the peloton. He stated that his fields of interest outside cycling are history, technology, economics, politics and weather forecasting.[3] He also speaks French fluently[4] and stated that a jump into politics would interest him after his cycling career.

Career

In 2008, Pozzovivo finished on the third step of the podium of the Giro del Trentino, which had a race categorization of 2.1. The first place went to Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas while Stefano Garzelli from the Acqua & Sapone–Caffè Mokambo took the second place.[5] He then participated in his third Giro d'Italia. While he was not considered a favorite for the overall rankings prior to the race,[6] he managed to finish in ninth position of the general classification.[7] He notably took the second position on the fifteenth stage,[8] a mountain affair finishing atop the Category 1 Passo Fedaia, which was featured for the first time in Giro history. He was bested only by his team-mate Emanuele Sella, who eventually tested positive for the blood booster MIRCERA and was later disqualified.[9]

2009

In 2009, Pozzovivo took the fifth stage of the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda, his first major victory since 2004.[10] He also finished second in the general classification of the mountainous Brixia Tour, more than a minute behind the winner Giampaolo Caruso.[11] He placed in the top ten of three stages in that race, including third on the second stage, three second in arrears of Leonardo Bertagnolli.[12]

2010

The 2010 season saw Pozzovivo take a great stage victory in the Giro del Trentino, where he edged a surging from behind Riccardo Riccò of Ceramica Flaminia by 3 seconds.[13] Pozzovivo finally took the third place overall, with the Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov of Astana taking the top honors.[14] Pozzovivo came in second place of the 2.1 categorized Giro dell'Appennino, where he attacked on the daunting Passo della Bocchetta, with only Robert Kiserlovski being able to follow him and crest the climb with him. The pair collaborated well to the finish, where Pozzovivo was bested by the Liquigas–Doimo man in the sprint, therefore taking second place.[15] In July, the diminutive Pozzovivo won the Brixia Tour, winning two mountain stages in the process.[16] He prevailed in the overall classification of the five stage race by a margin of one minute and fifty seconds over Team Sky's Morris Possoni.[17]

2012

Domenico Pozzovivo before the start of an individual time trial in the Giro d'Italia 2012 in Milan

In 2012, Pozzovivo won the prestigious Giro del Trentino. He was victorious in stage 3 of that race, which led the riders from Pergine to Brenzone, finishing after a steep climb, the Punta Veleno. Team cars were not allowed on that climb since it was very steep and the tarmac was inappropriate. Motorbikes were the only resource available for riders suffering a mechanical problem.[18] The victory on that hard stage granted him the leader's jersey, which he managed to hold on to the following day on the fourth and final stage, which was disputed in snowy weather conditions. He finished that stage in third position. He also won the Mountains classification jersey.[19]

Later that year, he sailed to victory in stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia, attacking on the slopes of the Colle Molella, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) away from the finish. His nearest pursuant, Spaniard Benat Intxausti of Movistar Team, completed the stage with a 23 seconds deficit on Pozzovivo.[20] He finished the Giro eighth overall, being always very competitive in the mountain stages. In June, Pozzovivo prevailed in the queen stage of the 2.1 rated Tour of Slovenia, a 219 kilometres (136 mi) course peppered with climbs. Pozzovivo broke away with Janez Brajkovič of Astana and somewhat surprisingly, beat Brajkovič in the sprint.[21] With that operation, he took the overall classification leader's jersey thanks to a six-second lead over Brajkovič, but lost it the next day in the individual time trial, where Brajkovič bested him by ten seconds. Pozzovivo had to settle for the second place of the Tour.[22]

In the fall, Pozzovivo took part in the Italian Classic Giro dell'Emillia and launched an attack in the steepest part of the final climb, while he was part of a small leading group of three riders. Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) resisted in his wheel to place an attack of his own, which would prove to be the decisive move as the Colombian sailed to victory. Pozzovivo was passed by two competitors in the final meters and took the fourth place.[23] Days later, Pozzovivo abandoned during the Giro di Lombardia, a race which suited him well in the past. The cold and heavy rain played a part in this outcome, as none of his Colnago team-mates reached the finish line either.[24]

2013

For the 2013 season, Pozzovivo left Colnago–CSF Bardiani, where he started his professional career back in 2005, and moved to World Tour outfit Ag2r–La Mondiale.[2] He was looking to repeat his 2012 win in the Giro del Trentino, but he had to withdraw after a crash in stage 3 of the race where he injured his elbow and broke two ribs.[25] Due to this injury, and some unfortunate crashes, he was unable to perform to his best ability in the Giro d'Italia, although he still managed to finish 10th overall, his third top ten in the Giro.

In the Vuelta, Pozzovivo was able to return to his best. He was consistently in the top 10 during the mountain stages, and ended up finishing 6th overall, his highest finish thus far in a Grand Tour. He particularly surprised in the Stage 11 Time Trial, a discipline which generally does not suit him, where he finished third behind winner Fabian Cancellara and World Champion time trial champion at the time Tony Martin.[26]

2014

Pozzovivo took part in the Roma Maxima, where he escaped with Alejandro Valverde. The pair maintained their lead until the bunch caught Pozzovivo metres before the line. Valverde won, while Pozzovivo took fifth place.[27] He finished sixth in the Tirreno–Adriatico stage race a week later.

Pozzovivo continued his preparation for his main goal in 2014, the Giro d'Italia, by racing the Giro del Trentino, where he finished second to Cadel Evans.[28] Two days later, he was one of the main protagonists in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, a race he was participating in for the first time. He attacked with Julian Arredondo on the Cote de Roche aux Faucons, and although he was caught, he attacked again with Giampaolo Caruso on the Cote de Saint-Nicolas, and was caught with only 200 meters to go, eventually finishing 5th.[29]

Pozzovivo started the Giro well, avoiding any crashes during the wet opening week and attacking on Stage 9 to Sestola, where he finished third on the day behind the breakaway, taking 30 seconds from his rivals and moving into 4th in the General Classification.[30] He also attacked successfully on Stage 14 to Oropa, but fell ill with Bronchitis on the next day, a mountain top finish at Montecampione, losing time to nearly all his rivals.[31] He managed to recover sufficiently during the rest day to win back time on the remaining peloton on the Queen Stage up to Val Martello on Stage 16, after Nairo Quintana, Pierre Rolland and Ryder Hesjedal had gone away earlier in the stage. He also managed to move up in the overall standings on both Stages 18 and 19, a mountain-top finish and an uphill time trial.[32] He eventually finished in 5th place, his highest ever finish in the Giro up to that point and his first ever top-5 finish in a Grand Tour.

Pozzovivo did not participate in the Tour de France to focus his efforts on the Vuelta a España. However, he had to forget the Spain Grand Tour when he crashed in training, breaking his tibia.[33] Pozzovivo said in an interview that he was able to bicycle before he was able to walk on his way to recovery and that he sent his team an e-mail to the effect that he was ready to come back sooner than expected, at the Il Lombardia race. “It’s a crazy idea and so it might not be taken into consideration [by the team]. I have suffered and I still suffer physically but I believe that that the head makes the difference.”[34] Ultimately, Pozzovivo's return race was Milano–Torino at the end of 2014 and he did race the Il Lombardia race afterward.[35]

2015

Domenico Pozzovivo at the 2015 Tour de Suisse

Pozzovivo started his season in January at Australia's Tour Down Under, despite suffering from a minor wrist fracture. He stated he was aiming for a top 5 Overall.[36] He finally finished sixth in the general classification.[37] In March, he went on to finish eighth overall in Tirreno–Adriatico. He grabbed his first victory since 2012 on a stage of the Volta a Catalunya. He was part of a group of seven favorites and he attacked two kilometers from the finish line to win solo on the flat finale, after the race went over several climbs.[38] He finally finished the stage race on the third step of the podium.[39] At the end of April, Pozzovivo participated in the mountainous Giro del Trentino. He lost time on Stage 2, but made up for it by taking the stage victory on Stage 3, distancing Richie Porte and Mikel Landa by five seconds after attacking with two kilometers remaining.[40] He finally finished seventh in the general classification of the race.[41] Two days after the Giro del Trentino concluded, Pozzovivo finished eighth of Liège–Bastogne–Liège as part of the leading group.[42]

Pozzovivo's next objective was the Giro d'Italia, but things got off to a bad start: after losing time on the opening team time trial, he lost more than a minute on the second stage because of a crash.[43] On stage 3, the following day, things took a turn for the worse as he crashed head first on a descend with 35 km (21.7 mi) to go. Shortly afterwards, AG2R reported that he was in a stable state, even though he appeared to be bleeding heavily from his head region on television pictures.[44] On the same night, he passed a CT scan which revealed no brain injury and talked to Gazzetta dello Sport: “It was a long night and I even made some plans for the future,” said Pozzovivo. “I was in the best condition of my life and I’m thinking about returning at the Tour de Suisse and being competitive.”[45]

Pozzovivo did return at the Tour de Suisse and registered second place on the queen stage of the race, a 237.3 km (147.5 mi) affair which finished at the foot of the Rettenbach glacier.[46] He finished the event in fifth position in the general classification.[47] He then participated in the National Road Race Championships where he came in sixth.[48]

Palmarès

2004
1st Stage 4 Giro del Friuli
2nd Overall Giro della Valle d'Aosta
2nd GP Città di Felino
3rd Overall Girobio
3rd GP Palio del Recioto
2007
3rd Overall Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda
2008
3rd Overall Giro del Trentino
9th Overall Giro d'Italia
2009
1st Stage 5 Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda
2nd Overall Brixia Tour
3rd Overall Tour of Slovenia
5th Overall Giro del Trentino
6th Overall Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali
6th Coppa Sabatini
7th Trofeo Melinda
9th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
9th Giro dell'Appennino
2010
1st Overall Brixia Tour
1st Stages 2 & 4
2nd Giro dell'Appennino
2nd Tre Valli Varesine
3rd Giro della Romagna
3rd Overall Giro del Trentino
1st Stage 4
4th Coppa Sabatini
5th Trofeo Melinda
6th Coppa Sabatini
6th Giro dell'Emilia
7th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
7th Giro del Piemonte
8th Overall Giro di Sardegna
2011
2nd Overall Brixia Tour
1st Stage 4
2nd Tre Valli Varesine
3rd Trofeo Melinda
4th Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
4th Overall Giro del Trentino
5th Overall Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda
6th Giro di Lombardia
6th Giro di Toscana
6th Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie
7th Overall Tour de Langkawi
8th Overall Giro di Padania
8th Giro dell'Emilia
10th Overall Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali
10th Coppa Sabatini
2012
1st Overall Giro del Trentino
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 3
1st Stage 1b (TTT) Giro di Padania
2nd Overall Tour of Slovenia
1st Stage 3
4th Giro dell'Emilia
4th Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
4th Overall Giro di Padania
5th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
7th Trofeo Melinda
7th Milano–Torino
8th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 8
8th GP Industria & Artigianato
10th Tre Valli Varesine
2013
4th Milano–Torino
6th Overall Vuelta a España
7th Overall Tour de Pologne
7th Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop
9th Overall Tour of Oman
9th Giro dell'Emilia
10th Overall Giro d'Italia
2014
2nd Overall Giro del Trentino
5th Roma Maxima
5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
5th Overall Giro d'Italia
6th Overall Tour of Oman
6th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
8th Overall Volta a Catalunya
10th Overall Tour de San Luis
2015
3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
1st Stage 3
5th Overall Tour de Suisse
6th Overall Tour Down Under[37]
7th Overall Giro del Trentino
1st Stage 3
7th Milano–Torino
8th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
2016
7th Overall Tour Down Under
7th Overall Giro del Trentino
8th Overall Tour of Oman

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Pink jersey Giro WD - 17 9 - WD WD 8 10 5 WD
Yellow jersey Tour - - - - - - - - - - -
red jersey Vuelta - - - - - - - - 6 - 11

WD = Withdrew; IP = In Progress

References

  1. 1 2 "Domenico Pozzovivo Cyclisme Profile". Yahoo! Eurosport UK. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Pozzovivo to join Ag2r-La Mondiale". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). 20 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  3. 1 2 Jean-François Quénet (14 May 2012). "Video: Pozzovivo the economist, Giro stage winner and overall contender". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Pozzovivo to target stage success atop Green Mountain". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). 14 February 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Rudy Gaddo (25 April 2008). "Stage 4 - April 25: Lavarone – Peio Terme, 178.6km". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  6. ↑ Lionel Birnie (2008-05-07). "GIRO D'ITALIA 2008: WHO WILL WIN?". Cycling Weekly. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  7. ↑ Gregor Brown (1 June 2008). "Stage 21 - Sunday, June 1: Cesano Maderno — Milano (Individual Time Trial), 28.5km". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  8. ↑ Susan Westemeyer (25 May 2008). "Stage 15 - Sunday, May 25: Arabba — Passo Fedaia/Marmolada (Dolomites Stars), 153km". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  9. ↑ Jeff Jones and Gregor Brown (2008-08-05). "Emmanuele Sella positive for EPO". BikeRadar.com. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  10. ↑ "Ciclismo: Settimana Lombarda, 5/a tappa a Pozzovivo". Informazone.it. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "9th Brixia Tour — Stage 5 updated". DailyPeloton. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  12. ↑ Laura Weislo (23 July 2009). "Bertagnolli powers to victory in uphill finish". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Giro del Trentino – Stage 4". Cima Coppi Blog (Word Press). 23 April 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Giro del Trentino 2010 News and Updates". SteepHillTV (SteepHillTV). Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "Kiserlovski crowned Giro dell'Appennino champion". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). 25 April 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "Pozzovivo prevails on mountain top finish". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). 24 July 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  17. ↑ "Ferrari flies to win Brixia Tour finale". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). 25 July 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  18. ↑ Daniel Benson (19 April 2012). "Pozzovivo prevails in Brenzone". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  19. ↑ "Pozzovivo wins 2012 Giro del Trentino". Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  20. ↑ Cossins, Peter (13 May 2012). "Pozzovivo wins Giro d'Italia stage 8 in Lago Laceno". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  21. ↑ "Pozzovivo wins stage 3 in Slovenia". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). 16 June 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  22. ↑ Kyle Moore (17 June 2012). "Tour de Slovenie: Brajkovic scoops overall victory as Koren squeaks out final time trial win". VeloNation (VeloNation LLC). Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  23. ↑ Ben Atkins (6 October 2012). "Nairo Quintana escapes a select group to win the Giro dell’Emilia". Velo Nation (Velo Nation LLC). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "Il Lombardia order of arrival" (PDF). Gazetta dello Sport (Gazetta dello Sport). 29 September 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  25. ↑ Shane Stokes (18 April 2013). "Pozzovivo injured but deemed unlikely to miss Giro d’Italia". VeloNation (VeloNation LLC). Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  26. ↑ Ben Atkins (4 September 2013). "Domenico Pozzovivo: "I’ve done the time trial of my life and it motivates me for the rest of the Vuelta"". VeloNation (2008-2013 by VeloNation LLC). Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  27. ↑ Nigel Wynn (9 March 2014). "Alejandro Valverde wins Roma Maxima". Cycling Weekly (IPC Media). Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  28. ↑ http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/giro-del-trentino-2014/stage-4/photos/302334
  29. ↑ http://www.cyclingquotes.com/news/pozzovivo_shines_in_liege/
  30. ↑ https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/giro-ditalia-weening-wins-stage-nine-pozzovivo-impresses-145341515--spt.html
  31. ↑ http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pozzovivo-suffering-with-bronchitis-at-giro-ditalia
  32. ↑ http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/05/gallery/gallery-2014-giro-ditalia-stage-19_330238
  33. ↑ Aleksandra Górska (10 August 2014). "Training crash might prematurely end Pozzovivo’s season". CyclingQuotes (CyclingQuotes.com 2013). Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  34. ↑ Aleksandra Górska (20 September 2014). "Ambitious Pozzovivo wants to return at Il Lombardia". Cycling Quotes (CyclingQuotes.com 2013). Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  35. ↑ "Pozzovivo targets Grand Tour podium and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2015". Cyclingnews.com (Future plc). 3 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  36. ↑ Jean-François Quénet (20 January 2015). "Pozzovivo hopes for top five at the Tour Down Under despite minor wrist fracture". Cyclingnews.com (Future plc). Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  37. 1 2 "Tour Down Under: Wippert wins final stage in Adelaide". cyclingnews.com. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  38. ↑ Spencer Powlison (25 March 2015). "Pozzovivo wins Catalunya stage 3 with solo attack". VeloNews (Competitor Group, Inc.). Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  39. ↑ Stephen Puddicombe (29 March 2015). "Richie Porte holds off Valverde to seal overall win in Catalunya". Cycling Weekly (IPC Media Sports & Leisure network). Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  40. ↑ Emil Axelgaard (23 April 2015). "Pozzovivo gets his revenge in the Trentino mountains". Cycling Quotes (CyclingQuotes.com 2013). Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  41. ↑ "Richie Porte seals Giro del Trentino overall win". Cyclingnews.com (Future plc). 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  42. ↑ Nigel Wynn (26 April 2015). "Alejandro Valverde wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2015". Cycling Weekly (IPC Media Sports & Leisure network). Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  43. ↑ Stephen Farrand (10 May 2015). "Crashes send peloton sprawling on Giro d'Italia stage 2. Stage 3 Pozzovivo suddenly crashes out of the Giro with a horror descent and has been admitted to the hospital.". Cyclingnews.com (Future plc). Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  44. ↑ Andrew Hood (11 May 2015). "Pozzovivo involved in serious crash". VeloNews (Competitor Group, Inc.). Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  45. ↑ Barry Ryan (12 May 2015). "Giro d'Italia: I’m ok but it was a very heavy fall, says Pozzovivo". Cyclingnews.com (Future plc). Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  46. ↑ Clarke, Stuart (17 June 2015). "Win gives Thibaut Pinot Tour de Suisse lead as Thomas moves to second overall". Cycling Weekly (Time Inc. UK). Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  47. ↑ Axelgaard, Emil (21 June 2015). "Dumoulin wins TT, Spilak takes overall win after huge drama". CyclingQuotes.com (JJnet.dk A/S). Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  48. ↑ Axelgaard, Emil (27 June 2015). "He’s back: Nibali defends Italian road race title". Cycling Quotes (CyclingQuotes.com 2013). Retrieved 27 June 2015.

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