DPA
· 12.03.2023
55 days before the start of the Giro d'Italia, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) presented himself in strong form with a fourth place overall at the difficult Tirreno-Adriatico 2023.
"My form is good, so I'm happy. I'm just missing that last bit to get to the front," said Kämna, who even wore the leader's jersey at one point. But Olympic champion Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) was in a class of his own with three stage wins in a row.
However, Kämna was pleased "that things are going well on schedule". At the Giro d'Italia, the German time trial champion wants to tackle the overall classification of a grand tour for the first time. The 26-year-old highly talented rider has the prerequisites for this. Strong in time trials - he finished second at Tirreno-Adriatico - and also good in the high mountains, as Kämna has proven in the past with stage wins at the Tour de France and the Giro.
Kämna will now fine-tune his skills and will only test his climbing abilities at the Tour of the Alps from 17 to 21 April before the Giro - together with the Russian Aleksandr Vlasov, with whom he will also share the captain's role at the first grand tour of the year. At Tirreno-Adriatico 2023, the teamwork also worked quite well with Jai Hindley (Australia), who is scheduled for the Tour this year.
"Lennard and Alexander had already completed an altitude training camp. We hope that it will bear fruit," said team boss Ralph Denk. "Jai hasn't done an altitude training camp yet, because the Tour de France is a bit later than the Giro. And from that point of view, I would say that Lennard and Alex are perhaps a tick ahead."
Even further ahead was Roglic, who was in a league of his own. In the end, the Slovenian won ahead of Portugal's João Almeida and Britain's Tao Geoghegan Hart. Belgian Jasper Philipsen took the final stage win in a bunch sprint, with Phil Bauhaus from Bocholt finishing in fourth place. Kämna will also have to deal with Roglic in the Giro.
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