.JPG) Pozzato at the 2016Grand Prix de Denain | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Filippo Pozzato |
| Nickname | Pippo The Peacock of Sandrigo |
| Born | (1981-09-10)10 September 1981 (age 44) Sandrigo,Italy |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 73 kg (161 lb; 11.5 st) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Classics specialist |
| Professional teams | |
| 2000–2002 | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| 2003–2004 | Fassa Bortolo |
| 2005–2006 | Quick-Step–Innergetic |
| 2007–2008 | Liquigas |
| 2009–2011 | Team Katusha |
| 2012 | Farnese Vini–Selle Italia |
| 2013–2015 | Lampre–Merida |
| 2016–2018 | Southeast–Venezuela |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato (born 10 September 1981) is an Italian formerroad racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for theMapei–Quick-Step,Fassa Bortolo,Quick-Step–Innergetic,Liquigas,Team Katusha,Lampre–Merida, and two spells with the Farnese Vini–Selle Italia/Wilier Triestina–Selle Italia teams.[1]
Anorthern classics specialist, Pozzato finished in second place at both the2009 Paris–Roubaix and the2012 Tour of Flanders. Pozzato finished a total of 37 Monument classics, including a victory in the2006 Milan–San Remo; he finished second in the race in2008 as well. Pozzato also won stages at the2004 Tour de France, the2007 Tour de France and the2010 Giro d'Italia, and was the winner of the 2009Italian National Road Race Championships.
Born inSandrigo,Veneto, Pozzato turned professional in 2000 with theMapei–Quick-Step team, part of the famousclasse di '81 (English:Class of '81) a group of emerging young riders born in 1981 who were part of the Mapei TT3 development team, along withFabian Cancellara,Bernhard Eisel andAlexandr Kolobnev.[2][3] Pozzato took his first victories with the team at the 2002Vuelta a Cuba, and took his first success in Europe at theGiro del Lago Maggiore the following month.[4] Before the season was finished, Pozzato had taken eleven further victories, including four stages at theTour de Normandie.[5]
After Mapei ended its sponsorship in 2002 Pozzato joinedGiancarlo Ferretti'sFassa Bortolo team for the 2003 season. He took early-season victories at theTrofeo Laigueglia and theGiro dell'Etna,[5] before he won a stage and the general classification atTirreno–Adriatico.[6][7] He took one further victory during the season, at theTrofeo Matteotti.[5] The following year, Pozzato won the final stage of theGiro della Liguria in February,[8] before repeating his victory at the Trofeo Laigueglia.[9] He made his first start at aGrand Tour at theTour de France – where he was the youngest rider at the race[10] – and won the seventh stage.[11] He was also chosen to be part of the Italian team for theroad race at theAthens Olympics – in support of team leaderPaolo Bettini, who went on to win the event.
Personality clashes withGiancarlo Ferretti meant that Pozzato suffered poor years withFassa Bortolo,[2] and thus, re-established contact with several managers and directeurs sportif ofQuick-Step–Innergetic. The Quick-Step–Innergetic team expressed interest and Pozzato was able to obtain a release for the2005 UCI ProTour season,[2] joining several former Mapei riders already on the team, such asPaolo Bettini andDavide Bramati. Having finished second at theItalian National Road Race Championships for the second time in three years in 2005,[12] Pozzato's first victory with the Quick-Step–Innergetic team came with a win in theHEW Cyclassics, ahead of teammateLuca Paolini.[12] He followed this up with another victory the following weekend in theGiro del Lazio,[13] with a third victory ultimately following at theDeutschland Tour, where he won the second stage.[14][15]
The 2006 season saw him win the first majorclassic of the yearMilan–San Remo after a superb ride which saw him first work for team leaderTom Boonen, but then was forced to launch his own winning attack in the finale.[16] He was unable to defend his victory in the renamedVattenfall Cyclassics, finishing third behindÓscar Freire andErik Zabel.[17] His only other victory of the 2006 season came at theTour of Britain, where he won the third stage of the race intoSheffield, having attacked from a six-rider lead group after the final categorised climb.[18] He moved up to third overall, a position he continued to hold at the end of the race.[19]
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For the 2007 season, Pozzato joined theLiquigas squad,[20] and during the early part of the season, he won consecutive starts at theTour du Haut Var,[21] andOmloop Het Volk.[22] Having finished third on the second stage of theTour de France,[23] Pozzato took his second career stage win three stages later, prevailing in the bunch sprint intoAutun.[24] Following the Tour de France, Pozzato took three further victories in the 2007 season; he won theTrofeo Matteotti in August,[25] before winning the sixth stage of theTour de Pologne and theGran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato in September.[5]
In his first European start of the 2008 season, Pozzato won the opening stage of the inauguralGiro della Provincia di Grosseto in February, going on to win the general classification at the race as well.[26][27] He recorded a top-ten overall finish atTirreno–Adriatico the following month, before finishing second atMilan–San Remo, four seconds behind race winnerFabian Cancellara.[28] He recorded his first top-ten finish at theTour of Flanders, finishing in sixth place, before another podium finish in theItalian National Road Race Championships with third place. After no successes at theTour de France, Pozzato rode theVuelta a España for the first time in his career. Liquigas won the openingteam time trial stage and with Pozzato crossing the finish line first, he assumed the gold jersey of race leader.[29] He would ultimately lose the jersey toAlejandro Valverde the following day,[30] and withdrew from the race prior to stage 19. He finished the season with two further second-place finishes at theGiro del Lazio and theCoppa Sabatini.[31][32]
In July 2008, Pozzato was announced to be joining the newTeam Katusha for the 2009 season.[33] Having finished second toFrancesco Ginanni at February'sTrofeo Laigueglia, Pozzato's first victory with Team Katusha came the following month atE3 Prijs Vlaanderen, winning a three-rider sprint againstTom Boonen andMaxim Iglinsky.[34] He followed this up with a win on the opening stage of theThree Days of De Panne,[35] and top-five finishes at theTour of Flanders (fifth),[36] andParis–Roubaix (second); at the latter, Pozzato claimed that when avoiding a crash ofThor Hushovd he lost 4 or 5 seconds and the chance for victory and that race winner Boonen benefited from theslipstream of official motorcycles to augment his lead.[37] In June, Pozzato won theItalian National Road Race Championships for the first time in his professional career, prevailing in a sprint finish of around 20 riders at theImola Circuit.[38] He took two further victories before the end of the season – winning August'sGiro del Veneto from a four-rider group,[39] and October'sMemorial Cimurri from a larger group.[40]
In 2010 he was accused by several riders, includingBjörn Leukemans, Boonen andPhilippe Gilbert for his "negative tactics" during key races – the previous season, Boonen had referred to Pozzato as "The Shadow".[41][42][43] Pozzato won a stage of theGiro d'Italia for the first time; having missed out toMatthew Goss in a bunch sprint on stage nine,[44] Pozzato won stage twelve from a small group that had gone clear on the final climb before the finish inPorto Recanati – for Italy's first stage win of the race.[45] He led the Italian team for theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships in Australia,[46] where he missed on a medal, ending up in fourth place in the sprint finish.[47] Following the World Championships, Pozzato's performances over the season were criticised by his team managerAndrei Tchmil.[48]
The following year, Pozzato was part of the lead group atMilan–San Remo; he chased downPhilippe Gilbert's attack in the final 2 kilometres (1.2 miles), but this effected his ability to sprint at the end, ultimately finishing in fifth place.[49] He then finished in third place overall at theTour de Picardie in May – tied on time with second-placedKenny Dehaes[50] – but he would miss two months of racing action following a crash on the final stage of theTour of Belgium.[51] Ultimately, his only victory of the 2011 season came in October – when he took a solo victory at theGran Premio Bruno Beghelli, some 19 seconds clear of the next closest rider.[52]
In September 2011, and having been linked with bothLampre–ISD andTeam Europcar,[53] Pozzato signed a contract to ride with UCI Professional Continental team Farnese Vini–Neri Sottoli,[54] later renamed asFarnese Vini–Selle Italia for the 2012 season. In the spring classics, Pozzato took four top-ten results – two of which where he finished as part of the lead group – with a best of second place coming at theTour of Flanders, where he was outsprinted by home riderTom Boonen.[55] He then won April'sGP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano from a small group,[56] but this would turn out to be his only win of an injury-blighted season.[57][58] He was also suspended for three months, backdated to June, for his links toMichele Ferrari, who had been given a lifetime ban from the sport earlier in the year.[59]
Pozzato leftFarnese Vini–Selle Italia after only one season, signing a three-year contract withLampre–Merida from the 2013 season.[58]
Pozzato earned his first victory of 2013 in theTrofeo Laigueglia, held inLiguria,Italy on mainly narrow, twisting and turning roads. His Lampre–Merida team reeled in the breakaway and controlled the front of the leading group whenMauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini–Selle Italia) attacked with 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) to cover, with Pozzato jumping in his slipstream. The sprint was contested by four riders, with Pozzato getting the best of them, to take a record third victory at the race.[60] The following month, he finished second at theRoma Maxima behind solo winnerBlel Kadri, having celebrated what he thought was a victory on the finish line.[61] It was not until August that Pozzato won another race,[62] when he won theCoppa Agostoni from a group of some 20 riders; in September, he raced theGP Ouest-France and despite not being a top favourite, he won the race,[63] becoming just the fifth Italian to do that. He also recorded high placings at theGran Premio della Costa Etruschi (third) and theGrand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (fifth),[62][64] making the Italian team for theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships in Tuscany.[62]
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Pozzato was overlooked for the Italian team to contest theroad race at the2014 UCI Road World Championships in Spain,[65] with only two top-three results during the season – second at theCoppa Bernocchi,[66] and third atTre Valli Varesine.[65] His lack of results did not go unnoticed as his team manager Brent Copeland referred to Pozzato as a "prima donna".[66] Pozzato's performances in 2015 showed no improvement, with no top-three finishes over the season, and his best overall finish being a tenth-place result at theDubai Tour.[67]
In December 2015, Pozzato signed a two-year contract with the Italian-basedSoutheast–Venezuela team from 2016,[68] and expected to retire at the end of the 2017 season.[69] He returned to the top ten placings with an eighth-place finish atMilan–San Remo, and followed this up with fourth place atDwars door Vlaanderen.[70] His best result of the season came at September'sGran Premio Bruno Beghelli, where he finished second toNicola Ruffoni.[71] The following year, he recorded his first top-ten finish at theTour of Flanders since his runner-up finish in2012, placing eighth.[72] He ultimately remained with the team in 2018, before retiring from the sport at the end of the season.[73]
In 2012, Pozzato was banned from cycling for three months by theItalian National Olympic Committee (CONI) after it was found that he had worked with infamous doctorMichele Ferrari from 2005 to 2008. CONI had looked to ban him for a year but were forced to reduce it to a three months thanks to a technicality.[74]
Source:[75]
Road race
Time trial
OverallVuelta a Cuba
OverallTirreno–Adriatico OverallGiro della Provincia di Grosseto
Road race, National Championships| Grand Tour | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | — | 84 | — | — | — | DNF | 45 | — | DNF | 120 | — | — | 115 | 104 |
| Tour de France | 116 | — | 133 | DNF | 67 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | 125 | — | — |
 / Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — |
| Monument | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | DNF | 63 | — | 1 | 19 | 2 | 22 | 29 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 30 | 41 | 8 | 31 | 52 |
| Tour of Flanders | DNF | 109 | 43 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 5 | — | 38 | 2 | 44 | 17 | 12 | 75 | 8 | — |
| Paris–Roubaix | — | — | DNF | 15 | 35 | 49 | 2 | 7 | DNF | DNF | 22 | 50 | 65 | — | — | — |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | DNF | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | DNF | 42 | 19 | — | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | — | — |
| Classic | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | 6 | — | — | 5 | 1 | — | 92 | 10 | DNF | DNF | 86 | — | — | 57 | — | — |
| Strade Bianche | Race did not exist | 13 | — | 33 | 4 | — | DNF | DNF | DNF | 27 | 63 | — | — | |||
| E3 Harelbeke | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | 1 | 4 | — | 27 | 26 | 79 | — | 39 | — | — |
| Gent–Wevelgem | — | DNF | 52 | 4 | 41 | 13 | DNF | — | 64 | 9 | 39 | DNF | DNF | — | — | — |
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | 4 | — | — |
| Clásica de San Sebastián | DNF | — | 52 | — | — | — | 5 | DNF | — | — | 88 | DNF | — | — | — | — |
| Hamburg Cyclassics | 71 | 56 | 1 | 3 | 19 | — | — | 64 | — | — | 58 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bretagne Classic | — | — | — | 6 | 4 | 48 | 21 | — | 39 | — | 1 | — | — | — | DNF | DNF |
| Paris–Tours | — | — | 14 | 10 | 82 | 42 | 4 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
Team pursuit,UCI World Junior Championships Team pursuit,UCI World Junior Championships
