Marco Pinotti (BMC Racing) is re-thinking his Giro d'Italia top 10 goal after the mid-mountain stage to Lago Laceno on Sunday. He slipped off the back with a few others in the final when Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago) escaped to win and Liquigas drilled the pace in pursuit.
"I couldn't do it," Pinotti told Cycling Weekly on Monday. "I tried to do the climb at my own pace. When Pozzovivo attacked, I went on at my own pace, lost a few metres. [Ryder] Hesjedal went by, I thought I could keep with him, but instead, he made a push to stay in contact and I lacked the force."
The wind made the final, flat 4.4 kilometres from the Colle Molella along the lakeside even more difficult to be solo. Pinotti founds some companions, but not enough to keep pace on the Hesjedal pink jersey group ahead.
"The delay of 15 seconds turned into nearly one minute," Pinotti added. "Ah, va beh. Vediamo."
His BMC Racing team rode the high wave into Italy from the start in Herning, Denmark. Young, 21-year-old Taylor Phinney won the opening time trial and held the pink jersey until Verona. He then stuggled with injuries as a result of a crash caused by Roberto Ferrari (Androni) on stage three in Horsens.
Because of the crash and subsequent sprained ankle, Phinney was not at his best for the team time trial in Verona and BMC failed to protect to his jersey. Pinotti sees those days as a bonus, which didn't weaken his team and his chances for a top 10 in Milan.
"It went well because the team worked, but didn't... It was not as the stages yesterday or the day before, where Lampre and Garmin were working on their own at times," added Pinotti. "On the days we had it, the sprinters' teams were helping, it wasn't bad."
Pinotti said that his legs felt good at the start of Sunday's stage in Italy's south. He was surprised he couldn't react to the accelerations and added that he'll wait until Cervinia on Saturday to re-think his GC objective. He currently sits in 23rd at 1-43 minutes.
"I'll judge the situation in Cervinia," he explained. If he can't remain with the overall leaders, he'll take aim at stage wins. "There's the stage the next day in my area above Bergamo in Resinelli. The last TT, and the whole last week offer a lot of opportunities."
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Giro d'Italia 2012: Live coverage
Giro d'Italia 2012 live text coverage schedule
Giro d'Italia 2012: Stage reports
Stage nine: Ventoso wins in Frosinone as Goss and Cavendish fall
Stage eight: Pozzovivo takes another Giro win
Stage seven: Hesjedal moves into Giro lead
Stage six: Rubiano solos to epic Giro stage win
Stage five: Cavendish bounces back for another stage win
Stage four: Garmin-Barracuda win TTT to take lead
Stage three: Goss wins in Horsens as Cavendish and Phinney crash
Stage two: Cavendish wins in Herning
Stage one: Phinney wins time trial
Giro d'Italia 2012: Photo galleries
Stage nine photo gallery
Stage eight photo gallery
Stage seven photo gallery
Stage six photo gallery
Stage five photo gallery
Stage four photo gallery
Stage three photo gallery
Stage two photo gallery
Stage one photo gallery
Giro d'Italia 2012: Teams and riders
Giro d'Italia 2012 start list
Giro d'Italia 2012: TV guide
Giro d'Italia 2012: British Eurosport TV schedule
Related links
Giro d'Italia 2012: The Big Preview
Cycling Weekly's Giro d'Italia section
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