Giro d'Italia (st. 21)
Telephone squad concludes spectacular Giro: four stage victories to keep alive streak of seven consecutive stage-winning Grand Tours -only team in the world- in Blue colours, 14 wins in total. Intxausti 8th overall, confirms top class
Mark Cavendish (OPQ) won the bunch sprint in Brescia that closed the 2013 Giro d’Italia, an unforgettable edition for Movistar Team. The telephone squad was undoubtedly one of the most triumphant in this year’s Corsa Rosa, with four stage victories added to a day in the race lead, Beñat Intxausti’s 8th place overall, the Super Team classification -points awarded to teams’ riders in all stages- and constant presence at the front all race long. The roster directed in Italy by José Luis Arrieta and Chente García Acosta shifted all expectations and are keeping a spectacular streak alive since Movistar entered the pro scene in 2011. Eusebio Unzué’s squad is the only team in the world to have won stages in the last seven Grand Tours (all ridden to date with the Blue jersey.)
No less than fourteen stage victories gather the Movistar Team in their appearance in those last seven GT’s, after the four achieved in 2011 (2 in the Giro, 1 into the Tour, 1 in the Vuelta), the six conquered last season (2 in the Giro, 1 in the Tour and 3 at the Vuelta). This Giro has set the record for the Movistar riders with an astonishing four, that makes the team close the month of May with 16 triumphs so far this season, besting the accounts of 2012 (15) and 2011 (14) after the Italian race.
Reaction – Eusebio Unzué / Beñat Intxausti
MOVISTAR TEAM’s 2013 GIRO D’ITALIA OVERVIEW IN NUMBERS
4 stage wins
Alex Dowsett – stage 8 (Saltara – ITT)
Giovanni Visconti – stage 15 (Galibier)
Beñat Intxausti – stage 16 (Ivrea)
Giovanni Visconti – stage 17ª (Vicenza)
Teams’ result
1st, overall teams’ points classification (Super Team)
2nd, team time trial stage 2 (Ischia)
3rd, overall teams’ classification (Winning Team)
MOVISTAR TEAM’s SEVEN GRAND TOURS
2013 Giro – 4 stage wins (Visconti (2), Dowsett, Intxausti), overall top ten (Intxausti, 8th)
2012 Vuelta – 3 stage wins (Movistar Team (TTT), Valverde (2), 3 days in the lead (Castroviejo (2), Valverde), Final podium (Valverde, 2nd), overall top ten (Intxausti, 10th), Teams’ classification
2012 Tour – 1 stage win (Valverde)
2012 Giro – 2 stage wins (Ventoso, Amador)
2011 Vuelta – 1 stage win (Lastras), 1 day in the lead (Lastras)
2011 Tour – 1 stage win (Costa)
2011 Giro – 2 stage wins (Ventoso, Kiryienka)