Mikel Nieve on the Zoncolan, 2011 Giro d'ltalia.
Now riding for Mitchelton-Scott... will he show up tomorrow?
The feared Zoncolan stage 14 is tomorrow with the 10.1 km climb with pitches of up to 22 per cent. Tormenting riders and delighting fans the Zoncolan debuted in 2004 and continuing since; 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2014.
"When you arrive there, you see that arch, 'Welcome to Hell.' At that point, you can only look at the wheel in front of you because if you look ahead, you'll lose your mind and want to climb off your bike. For me it's the hardest climb in cycling. Bola del Mundo in the Vuelta a Espana is hard, but this go on for nine kilometres. It's 40 minutes for the first riders, but for us mortals, it's one hour. One hour of going all out."
- Matteo Tosatto, DS Sky
"If you are a GC guy, the gaps can be impressive. Even if the guy is right there in front of you, the gap can be a minute to him. It's a day where all the GC guys are going to pray for good legs."
- Svein Tuft, Mitchelton-Scott
"Every time I did it, I suffered."
- Domenico Pozzovivo, Bahrain-Merida
Comments