With only seven wins, Andoni-Venezuela didn't have the 2014 season that they had hoped for. Nonetheless, manager Gianni Savio is moderately satisfied with the showing of his Italian team.
"I have mixed emotions, not excellent," he told Tuttobiciweb. "But I also have to say that we did not have much luck and so it is not entirely disappointing. Seven wins and an infinite number of places of honour, many of them important ones that with a little luck could have changed the balance of our 2014 season. Imagine if Jackson Rodriguez had won the stage tp Rivarolo Canavese or if Franco Pellizotti had won on the Zoncolan in the Giro d'Italia... If you ask me to rate our performance I would say 6 for the results but 8 for thr commitment and for the fighting spirit that we have shown in every race to the extent that it has become our trademark."
Main riders like Johnny Hoogerland and Franco Pellizotti failed to take a single win. While Savio admits to being disappointed with the former, he is full of praise for the latter.
"I do not like to mention names, but I just say that som riders from whom I expected more, eventually disappointed," he said. "I don't want to go into details about the individuals because each one had his own story.
"His [Hoogerland's] results speak for themselves. He never finished in the top 5 but he never felt good in the team. As opposed to Kenny Van Hummel who won three races and finished on the podium in three continents. He is a pure sprinter for racing in the Netherlands and he suffers too much on the climbs and that's why when we decided not to renew his contract
"Fortunately, there are several positives. And I begin with Franco Pellizotti, our captain, a great example of professionalism, a ride who played his role to perfection and who has managed to get on podiums throughout the season. His approach to his teammates is not authoritarian but authoritative. He has confirmed his role as road captain, the man who knows what to do and when to do it.
"Marco Bandiera has done a dark and valuable work. In 2014 we were the Italian team that received the largest number of invitations for WorldTour races and Marco was invaluable in Harelbeke, Flanders and Amstel, ridingwell and finishing all races. The he was on the podium at the end of the Giro in Trieste, winning the sprints competition. Among our young people, we had a nice confirmation from Zilioli who was often a protagonist even though he was set back by injuries. Carlos Gavliz also deserves applause. He is the Venezuelan road race champion and was second in the Vuelta a Venezuela, has worked hard in his first year among the professionals and can still improve a lot."
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