Cazaux relishing Giro start

Pierre Cazaux will embark on his second Giro d'Italia in as many years when the peloton rolls out from Herning on Saturday. The French-Basque is looking forward to arguably the most beautiful of the three Grand Tours - if only because it's a welcome distraction from the cobbled classics further north.

"After the Volta a Catalunya, I did two races that don't really suit me: Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. That was not a pleasant experience... Luckily, the Giro is coming up!", he told www.velochrono.fr.

Mikel Nieve will be the team's protected rider in Italy, and Cazaux will as ever play the role of domestique. He doesn't mind sacrificing his own chances for his team leader's though, and believes a top ten overall is feasible for his Spanish companion.

"Well, I don't think we'll win the whole thing. But a top ten on GC is a goal. I'll do my all to help him achieve that. And, some days when I'm not feeling too exhausted, why not go for a win myself? I'll try to slip away when there's a real possibility of a break sticking, not when you know the sprinters' teams will reel you in. It doesn't really matter who wins a stage though; our goal is to grab a win as a team. When you look back on last year, when Nieve won the queen-stage... It was a very hard day, but when you do it once, you want to do it again."

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com