Believes final time trial will play to his favour: ‘I expect a good result from him’
Last year Denis Menchov had his quietest season since 2003, with the sole victories to his credit being a stage win in the Vuelta a España plus the Russian national time trial title. The Katusha rider is under some pressure to perform better in 2013 and thus justify his big contract, and will get things underway in the Volta ao Algarve.
Beginning Thursday and running until Sunday, it’s a race that his directeur sportif Dmitriy Konyshev believes could suit him well.
“We go to the ‘Volta ao Algarve’ in order to do a good job and, if it’s possible, to fight for general classification,” he told VeloNation today. “I spoke with Denis and he said he’s already in a good shape: obviously not at his top - because it’s his first competition of the season, he can still improve.
“But anyway the profile of this race is not so hard: there won’t be demanding climbing parts, and most probably the overall standings will be decided in the last day with the 37-kilometer long ITT. Denis is a specialist in these kind of races, so I expect a good result from him.”
The 35 year old will be backed by a solid team of riders, with Alexander Kolobnev, Giampaolo Caruso, Sergey Chernetckii, Dmitriy Kozonchuk, Viacheslav Kuznetsov, Alexey Tsatevich and Eduard Vorganov providing support.
Menchov rode well last year early on, netting second on a stage and fourth overall in the Vuelta a Andalucia/Ruta del Sol. Riding strongly in Algarve will show that he is in good condition, but it will also be important for him to keep the momentum going as he builds up for even bigger targets.
The team has an additional incentive to do well as it has not yet been successful in obtaining a WorldTour licence. It is currently awaiting a CAS decision on the matter but if it is not able to reverse the UCI’s Licence Commission’s decision, it will have to rely on wildcards to the Tour de France and other races.
Performing strongly will give additional impetus to its chances, and so the riders will be determined to do as well as they can in the Volta ao Algarve and other events.