Domenico Pozzovivo appreciation thread

[Michele]

Glad for Pozzovivo as he deserve a Giro victory.
What I dont like of him is that sometimes he rides like if he's Contador; I mean taking control of the race himself (not by attacking) while not making any big difference.
But today it was the other way around!

 

[meat puppet]

Big up to the little guy! Nice dig and looks good for the rest of the Giro. Though I must say, it's not fair when you're 50kg soaking wet.

Yes his degree in economics is factual. He also plays piano and is a bit of a dilettante in meteorology. Goes well with his profession. Overall, a well rounded guy. Great move today for sure.

Hopefully not in marginalist bullshoot, though. If so, then no love. A man of his caliber ought to be of a heterodox orientation.

 

[killswitch]

http://www.facebook.com/Festina.Thisisoursport?sk=photos

 

[profff]

pozzo is really a nice guy, very intelligent one .
in the processo he was very nice and not banal at all, as usual.
he is really outstanding in terms of education and politeness among italian riders.
i like him very much since he was in the zalf team as under 23.
lot of people were doubting about his chances in the pro world due to his physical limits but he was able in years to show that in good days he is really strong.
racing for colnago which is a good team but without the kind riders able to protect him on the flat and windy stages was limiting hisperformances in the past in giro. this year he was luckier. i hope he will not fall in an ambush on an easy stage. in the mountain he will be a factor and it will be very interesting see him and ruyano run a similar race.....

this year he was really impressive in trentino and in appennino too.
the only one able to contrast him was betancourt, but unfortunately he is not at the giro...to the likes of huzarski and barta ( thank you acquarone...)

 

[jsem94]

Wow. He is incredibly short.

 

[profff]

about meteorology, he is really passionate about that discipline and weather forecast is a sort of hobby for him.
he defines himself as a "metereofilo "".
he looks everyday at the weather forecast map on the web and speaks properly ...somebody on the peloton thought that his degree was in meteorology and he is very often asked about the subject both in the peloton and in tv

 

[Kwibus]

Perhaps that's it. When you look at Belda (here on Youtube, if that's the correct Belda) it seems it has a lot to do with them being so short.

When Pozzo climbs standing, it sometimes looks as if his feet are pulling his bike forward, because they are incidentally fixed to his pedals; meaning, they obviously do, but it's as if he falls forward, while with every pedal stroke he is reminded of the fact that some annoying thing under and behind him is holding him back, and he chooses to drag it a long.

Anyway... so much for over-analyzing.

Nice video. Looks like a small peoples race
Belda certainly has the same style. Looks funny.

 

[rhubroma]

pozzo is really a nice guy, very intelligent one .
in the processo he was very nice and not banal at all, as usual.
he is really outstanding in terms of education and politeness among italian riders.
i like him very much since he was in the zalf team as under 23.
lot of people were doubting about his chances in the pro world due to his physical limits but he was able in years to show that in good days he is really strong.
racing for colnago which is a good team but without the kind riders able to protect him on the flat and windy stages was limiting hisperformances in the past in giro. this year he was luckier. i hope he will not fall in an ambush on an easy stage. in the mountain he will be a factor and it will be very interesting see him and ruyano run a similar race.....

this year he was really impressive in trentino and in appennino too.
the only one able to contrast him was betancourt, but unfortunately he is not at the giro...to the likes of huzarski and barta ( thank you acquarone...)

Well by nature pro cycling takes away from one's university credentials. He does carry himself with aplomb, I'd agree. As far as "politeness" goes, I'm not sure the Italian riders are any more or less polite than other nationalities, though they may be perceived differently by northerners.

His intellectual/cultural pursuits do seem to come through in his unprepossessing and pensive character though. When questioned about how he finds time for them on processo alla tappa today, he said wryly "I don't get much sleep." And that he "can't be still, on pain of boredom." He is a class act for sure. That he's form the south, only reinforces the projected image of having a wisdom beyond his years.

 

[profff]

i just referred to italian riders because i know them better and i have been following them since they were juniors.
and , as a matter of fact, it is easy to understand a judge a person character when they speak ypur same own language. it is easier to catch nuances .

pozzo has always been like that, since he was in the under23 rankings.
always very calm, polite , intelligent nice person.

he comes from a small village from one of the poorest and less developped area of southern italy and he perfectly represents the opposite and the negation of all the stereotypes , very common in italy, about people coming from that part of the country.

normally he behaves like a perfect english gentleman ( i don't know if they really do exist ) and not as a sheperd from montalbano jonico as many would expect.

from a technical standpoint he showed today that his strength is not only his featherweight, but he has power. he can push gears in the falsopiano like he showed today. he is quite explosive and he has always been like that: in 2004 in torricell climb, when siotsiou won the world champioship in verona he was able to get clear and keep the lead for a while also on the flat after a not so selective climb.
his real weakness is downhill

 

[RedheadDane]

Only recently got to know about him, but I gotta say he's cool!
And he looks so young! If I didn't know he was 29 I think I would've guessed early 20s, at the most.

 

[gilbertador]

If Liquigas lose Nibali he could be a great replacemnt, he says he wants to ride the tour and that means he needs to leave colnago, could work well for both parties

 

[brilleaben]

It could be epic with the two dwarf climbers Pozzovivo and Rujano battling it out on the steepest mountains. Maybe they will even force Basso to accelerate just once?

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I like Pozzovivo a lot as well. I find it interesting, though, that he says that one of his least favorite mountains is Zoncolan.

 

[Ruudz0r]

If Liquigas lose Nibali he could be a great replacemnt, he says he wants to ride the tour and that means he needs to leave colnago, could work well for both parties

He already resigned with Colnago

 

[gilbertador]

Bad move

He already resigned with Colnago

Terrible move and from someone who claims to be an economist, with the good trentino result and a Giro win he could have looked forward to leadership opportunities and a big salary elsewhere. For me it stinks when a rider doesn t go to world tour level when he is easily capable, it lacks of ambition for sure

 

[will10]

Terrible move and from someone who claims to be an economist, with the good trentino result and a Giro win he could have looked forward to leadership opportunities and a big salary elsewhere. For me it stinks when a rider doesn t go to world tour level when he is easily capable, it lacks of ambition for sure

I can assure you he will be on a big salary at Colnago. Also - leadership opportunities? He is their leader in every race he rides.

 

[gilbertador]

He is the leader in every race he rides but his calendar is severely limited, he is great in Italian classics and could do a great job in stuff like fleche wallone and lbl, he could also have a 2nd gt a year and many other week long race opportunities, I doubt his salary will be as high as a leading World tour team could pay....

 

[jens_attacks]

pozzovivo is not made for that kind of pressure and he won't cope well at all at world tour level

he will never ever do well in fleche because he will start the huy in the last positions.can't even bother with lbl.probably the same with first tour stages.
staying at colnago is the best for him

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Terrible move and from someone who claims to be an economist, with the good trentino result and a Giro win he could have looked forward to leadership opportunities and a big salary elsewhere. For me it stinks when a rider doesn t go to world tour level when he is easily capable, it lacks of ambition for sure

I couldn't disagree more. He gets to ride his priority races where he is, with undisputed leadership and less expectation.

This whole wt necessity is overrated. I enjoy seeing the likes of him, pozzato etc in pc teams

 

[Caruut]

Terrible move and from someone who claims to be an economist, with the good trentino result and a Giro win he could have looked forward to leadership opportunities and a big salary elsewhere. For me it stinks when a rider doesn t go to world tour level when he is easily capable, it lacks of ambition for sure

Depends what you think ambition is. This gives him the opportunity to ride for the win wherever he wants. Is it more ambitious to go to a WT team and spend half his season working for someone else? To me what smacks of a lack of ambition is guys spending season after season going through the motions with big teams, happy to ferry their leaders around, rather than dropping down a bit to become a proper leader.

 

[RedheadDane]

It could be epic with the two dwarf climbers Pozzovivo and Rujano battling it out on the steepest mountains. Maybe they will even force Basso to accelerate just once?

LoL! Yeah! Battle of The Midgets!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Domenico's been at Colnago his whole career, through Ceramica Panaria, CSF-Navigare to the current iteration. It suits him well. He is not going to be of use in the Ardennes or other hilly classics; his positioning isn't good and he's so small he easily gets swamped. Even on Punta Veleno, he wasn't in the first 30 to hit the climb; he worked his way through the group before hitting the front and then going.

At CSF, he has more or less unquestioned leadership. With Paolini moving on, di Luca not firing on all cylinders and Garzelli retiring, there's always the chance they could pick up some of the races abroad that Acqua e Sapone used to, of course - especially if Modolo continues to improve and they are able to keep him. Pirazzi will always liven up a race.

Also, because he's a featherweight climber, he's also susceptible to illness and injury. As a result, too heavy a calendar could see him suffer, whereas on the slightly reduced calendar Colnago run, he can be more competitive in the races he wants to be.

Also, we're making the assumption that economics ruled his decision. Maybe he could make more money being a superdom somewhere else, but preferred to stay with the people he knows and is comfortable with.

 

[Red Rick]

He's also a leader because him being a domestique doesn't work very well. The draft you get from riding behind him is minimal

 

[Ruudz0r]

Impressed with Pozzovivo's performance today, he managed to get to the front on the flat part and stay in front during the chaotic roads towards the climb. 3 more days to survive and then its time to shine and win the points + climber + overall classificiation!

 

[Parrulo]

Impressed with Pozzovivo's performance today, he managed to get to the front on the flat part and stay in front during the chaotic roads towards the climb. 3 more days to survive and then its time to shine and win the points + climber + overall classificiation!

domenico really is looking mighty strong!!!!!

i love it