“Happy ending” at the Giro d’Italia?
When it gets brutal, Buchmann wants to deliver
May 4, 2022, 6:35 p.m
Falls, illnesses and Corona – behind Emanuel Buchmann lie two difficult years full of suffering and setbacks. At the Giro d’Italia he finally wants to get off to a flying start – with an extremely strong team. The climbing specialist relies on the “brutal” third week.
Just don’t fall. When the 105th Giro d’Italia starts in Budapest on Friday, Emanuel Buchmann is hoping for an end to his almost two-year series of breakdowns. Falls, illnesses and corona have repeatedly thrown back the tour hope since his strong fourth place in the 2019 Tour de France. The climbing specialist from the Allgäu has not lost sight of his goal. “The expectation was always the podium, that was my goal and still is,” said Buchmann.
In 2020, Buchmann fell on the Dauphiné tour and was no longer competitive on the tour. Last year he was a promising sixth in the Giro up to the 15th stage, before he had to retire after a serious fall with a concussion and bruises on his face. That was “devastating”. “You don’t get anything for being ready in top form. In the end, only results count and they were missing,” added the Ravensburger native.
Corona affects Buchmann
In addition, diseases and Corona threw the lightweight back again and again. As at the Olympic Games last year, when his roommate Simon Geschke tested positive for Corona shortly before the road race. Buchmann spent a sleepless night in Tokyo between PCR tests and then had no chance. After his return, the 29-year-old fell ill with Covid-19 himself. That affected him for the rest of the season. “I couldn’t reach my normal level anymore,” says Buchmann.
So it fits into the picture that he is “not in absolute top form” at the Giro start this time either. Buchmann caught bronchitis after the Tour of the Basque Country. “But if everything goes well, then hopefully the form will be right in the third week, and that’s where the decision will be made,” said the Bora-hansgrohe driver. The last Giro week was “brutally difficult” and therefore to his liking. In any case, the Giro has it all with more than 50,000 meters of altitude difference. The decision to prefer the Giro to the Tour was not difficult. “With Denmark and northern France and a stage on cobblestones, the risk of falls would be enormous again,” explains the 29-year-old, looking at the profile of the France loop.
The team continues to rely on Buchmann
His team has not lost confidence in Buchmann. “Of course we trust him with a top placement. He’s always good for a place among the best. Anyone who finishes fourth in the Tour de France can of course also play a very good role in the Giro,” said team boss Ralph Denk, who was with a strong round driver team at the start. In addition to Buchmann, the two teammates Jai Hindley and Wilco Kelderman proved with their second and third place at the Giro 2020 that they can drive to the front.
And then there is Lennard Kämna. The highly talented Tour stage winner of 2020 is an important helper on the one hand, but also gets freedom. “I definitely want to go hunting for stages again, so try to win a stage,” announced Kämna in the “Weser-Kurier”. It is quite realistic that a driver from the Bora team will end up on the podium. Because the two Slovenian stars Tadej Pogacar (Tour winner 2020 and 2021) and Primoz Roglic (Vuelta champion 2019 to 2021) are concentrating on the tour, the Colombian winner of the previous year, Egan Bernal, is not ready after his serious fall in winter. Possibly the chance for Buchmann if he doesn’t fall again.