Etixx – Quick-Step riders Rigoberto Uran and Gianluca Brambilla performed reconnaissance of the Stage 14 59.2km Giro d’Italia ITT, which starts in Treviso and ends in Valdobbiadene, on Thursday. Etixx – Quick-Step trainer Koen Pelgrim and Sport Director Davide Bramati were present to help the two riders scout the parcours.

Uran finished 2nd in the Giro d’Italia GC in 2014, after he won the Stage 12 ITT from Barbaresco to Barolo. As a result of the victory he temporarily took over the Maglia Rosa as race leader.

In 2015 Uran returns to the Giro as Colombian ITT Champion, having won gold in February of this season.

“It is a long ITT at 59 kilometers,” Pelgrim said. “It will be difficult to properly distribute your energy, because after 30 kilometers it is flat, but if you start too fast you can lose a lot of time in the second part, which is more difficult with some tough climbs. Technically it isn’t super hard, but it will certainly be a tough time trial with a primary focus on keeping the effort balanced.”

“It’s a nice parcours that I really love,” Uran said. “This time trial comes after two weeks of racing at the Giro. So it can be key, because energy levels of all riders will be at the limit after that amount of racing. It could be important for the GC because after about an an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes of time trialing, time differences can be pretty significant. How a rider can do in this kind of time trial is difficult to predict, because yes, the first stretch is really flat.”

“But when you enter into the small hills you have to pay attention and really keep the effort even in the final kilometers with the difficult sections. It’s a completely different chrono if you compare it with the time trial I won last year. But I am confident. I like the parcours a lot. It suits me perfectly and I worked hard so far on my Specialized Shiv in preparation for the time trials. I am the Colombian National Champion, so I would like to do well in the time trial and represent my country and my team well.“

“It is a nice time trial for the specialists,” Brambilla said. “It’s really linear, with a long stretch where you have to always stay in good aerodynamic position and push hard often in the big ring. The first part will be important to then see what is left in the energy reserves for the last part. The last part can make the difference and will show who properly shared the workload to avoid problems in the final kilometers. The roads are really nice, and it should be a fast parcours.”