Pozzato gives up s*x, eyes Gilbert before Worlds
Paolo Bettini’s nine-man Italian national team, en route to the UCI Road World Championships, will be led by Filippo Pozzato. He has named Philippe Gilbert as the rider he is the most concerned about, and stated that abstaining from
s*x is likely to increase his chances at the event, held in Geelong and Melbourne, Australia, from September 29 to October 3. The Gazzetta dello Sport reported that abstaining from s*x is not a new idea in cycling, though it is a distinctly Italian one, having
been standard practice in the 40s and 50s.
"Staying away from women isn't a problem for me at the moment. For the world championships I'm willing to make that sacrifice and lots of others," said Pozzato. "I haven't had s*x since I broke up with my girlfriend during the Giro d'Italia. The end of my
relationship was a difficult time and at the Giro I was sleeping for just two or three hours. I was a wreck.”
Pozzato, who just turned 29, is currently racing in the Vuelta a Espana with Team Katusha. He won a stage in both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Burgos, but so far his best at the Spanish Grand Tour has been a fifth place stage
finish. He plans to finish the final Grand Tour and to be in Australia two days after the final stage to train on the Championship roads, which he visited in July.
"I've been away from home for two months now, either at races or training camps. I'm getting used to it, even if I'm missing my family a little. I've been labelled as a playboy but I hope things will change now. I've had some fun in the past, like everyone
my age. But I'm 110% dedicated to cycling now."
The Italian team leader has described the roads as poorly suited to pure sprinters like Tyler Farrar and Mark Cavendish, who has won three stages of the Vuelta so far. Instead, he has named Philippe Gilbert as a serious threat.
"Cavendish won the stage and is coming into form but I still think the course in Melbourne is too tough for sprinters like him and Farrar. Perhaps I'm wrong and he'll surprise us like he did at Milan-Sanremo. But to be honest I think people like Philippe
Gilbert and Freire are bigger favourites."
Gilbert won the summit finish in stage three of the Vuelta, as well as five other top-10 finishes so far. He will be leading the nine-man Belgian team in the World Championships, and has been training for every eventuality, where Pozzato knows he needs the
right conditions for the win. The Italian is counting on a bunch sprint at the uphill finish of the race, while Gilbert has been a prominent player in the bunch sprints as well as being a breakaway specialist.
"Gilbert is the greatest danger to me. The way he grabbed the leader's jersey of the Vuelta, and then defended it, shows just how good his condition is. On the Belgian team, he is the absolute leader. This is good news for us. It means that the Belgians are
ready to do their own work. We, Italians, will not do all of the work."
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