Tirreno-Adriatico 2018, Caruso: “I don’t feel any pressure”

Damiano Caruso is starting to get used to wearing the leader’s jersey at the end of Tirreno-Adriatico opening team time trial. BMC Racing‘s rider takes advantage of his team’s win on stage 1 of the Italian stage race and once again approaches the remaining six days of racing in first overall position. The Italian rider said after the end of the race: “It’s a magnificent feeling to wear again the blue leader’s jersey. I only race a little in my homeland and achieving this result in Italy is even more satisfying. The whole team, staff and riders, were amazing: we are very happy“, explaining the pride he feels by leading an important Italian stage race like Tirreno-Adriatico. When asked about the advantage of having ridden without the wind faced by Sky and Mitchelton, Caruso replied: “I am not sure if there was less wind for us in the final, but for sure, we had a strong group of riders“.

Caruso went on poining out how much BMC pays attention to details: “We changed some of the riders with whom I won last year’s team time trial here but the result is still the same. We pay a lot of attention to time trials both when we are together and when we train by ourselves and in the end the results are explicit to everybody”. Moreover, former Cannondale rider explains his role inside BMC Racing throughout the Tirreno-Adriatico: “
Richie [Porte] was the established leader and I’m sorry he couldn’t be part of this line up. Now that I am the GC leader I don’t feel any pressure and I will evaluate day by day what I can achieve. I will also help Greg van Avermaet to succeed in taking stage victories“.