Gigabike sprak met Giovanni Cifelli - winnaar Tirreno-Adriatico

Hi Giovanni,

I want to ask you some questions for an interview on www.gigabike.be, because of your victory in Tirreno-Adriato 2009! Our main interviewer, Steven Raeman, you know him, has sent me for this job ... I hope you can answer some questions in English because my Italian is quite bad ...

* Congratulations with your victory! Did you expect to win the Tirreno? Your team looked good prepared for the race ...

Thank you! I am very happy of the success in the Tirreno as it had been on my radar screen for at least a couple of years but I had never managed to get a good result.

* Looking at your in-transfers, it seems youre preparing for the Giro now. Am I right? Who's your favorite to win the Giro 2009?

Well, as I was lucky enough to win the last two Giro, I almost feel compelled to try to win again this year although a threepeat will be difficult. My favorite for this year's winner is.....Saronni? ;) Seriously speaking I do not see a clear favorite, but I hope an Italian will win and that there won't be any bad surprise à la Landis, which honestly did kill the interest for the race.

* You've participated in Gigabike for 5 years in a row ... but how did someone from Italy discover this Belgian game?

That's what happens when you befriend Belgians addicted to cycling!

* It's not the first time you win on Italian soil - in fact, you've won many Giro's stages, Coppa's and Trofeo's. Will you try the main thing one day - the general classification of Gigabike?

I tried to have a shot at the general classification my first year, but I quickly realized that I do not have the time and knowledge to try to compete for the general ranking. Let's say that if Gigabike was the Tour the France I would be a sprinter who can win several stages but never the general classification.

* You are a member of 'Das Landschaft', a 'kliek' famous of the many stage victories. You will fit in well, but is it different compared to your former kliek, 'Het Landschap'? What are the differences?

It was an honor for me to be part of the Het Landschap, which is constantly one of the best teams in Gigabike, but they were too good for me! I think I better fit with my current team which is more made of mavericks like me trying to win as many races as possible rather than scientifically calculating all moves to win the general classification or the team ranking.

* I ask very little about other things than Gigabike ... but tell us more: what do we need to know about Giovanni Cifelli before we finish this interview?

I still enjoy Gigabike very much and I plan to compete for many years to come!

Thanks for your cooperation!

Thank you and I hope to get another interview after the Giro......

Interview : Marco Vroege