[I-am-Specialized]

<p>Alberto Contador’s dominant overall victory at the 2011 Giro d’Italia capped an equally impressive run for Specialized bikes in the corsa rosa.</p><p>
</p><p>
Contador won two stages and the points jersey en route to his second overall Giro crown to put Specialized on the highest spot on thewinner’s podium. Roman Kreuziger (Astana) also gave Specialized a podium spot with the best young rider’s jerseys while Astana won the team competition and Specialized-powered riders bolted to six victories in the 21-stage, 3245km marathon across Italy.</p><p>
</p><p>
“It’s an incredible sensation to win this Giro. When I won in 2008, it was a surprise because I came to the Giro at the last-minute. This victory is the result of a job well-done. We’ve been working and planning on this Giro for months,” an emotional Contador said Sunday. “I never really had the feeling that the Giro was in jeopardy. I was most consistent over the three weeks and the Saxo Bank-Sungard team really supported me. I came here with the idea winning. I really enjoyed racing because everything could not have unfolded in a better way.”</p><p>
</p><p>
Contador was unchallenged throughout the demands of a Giro that included eight summit finishes, three time trials and thousands of kilometers of after-stage transfers. Contador surged to victory on Mount Etna in stage 9 to grab the pink jersey and never looked back.</p><p>
</p><p>
Contador gained time in every decisive stage, posting top-3 finishes in nine stages, and rode his Specialized Shiv to third in Sunday’s final TT to secure an impressive 6:10 victory over Italian ace Michele Scarponi. Vincenzo Nibali rounded out the podium at 6:56 back.</p><p>
</p><p>
“Alberto was impressive throughout the Giro. Everyone can see what a great champion he is,” said Saxo Bank-Sungard boss Bjarne Riis. “It’s satisfying to win like this because we really worked hard behind the scenes to prepare for this Giro. We saw the stages. We trained in the mountains. The team worked perfectly. Alberto deserved to win because he was the strongest.”</p><p>
</p><p>
Contador had company on the winner’s podium in Milano when Kreuziger stood alongside the pink jersey and King of the Mountains winner Stefano Garzelli. The Czech phenom rode to sixth overall at 11:28 back to clinch the best young rider’s white jersey as well as to help secure the prestigious team classification for Astana.</p><p>
</p><p>
“This is the most beautiful moment in my career to be next to these two great champions on the podium,” Kreuziger said Sunday. “For me, it’s a great personal satisfaction to stand on the final podium in the best young rider’s jersey, even though I came here to fight for the overall classification. But I am very satisfied because Astana won the team classification and I really enjoyed this Giro. It makes me want to come back to fight again for victory.”</p><p>
</p><p>
Specialized-powered riders led the Giro almost from start-to-finish. Marco Pinotti won the inaugural pink jersey of the 2011 Giro with HTC-Highroad’s team time trial victory before passing the jersey to Mark Cavendish the next day. Contador snagged pink in stage 9, giving Specialized some 15 days in the pink jersey in 21 days of racing.</p><p>
</p><p>
Six Specialized riders won stages. Contador won two, HTC-Highroad won the opening team time trial, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) won two sprints (stages 10 and 12) and loyal gregario Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) won stage 19 thanks to a winning gesture from second-place Contador.</p><p>
</p><p>
After basking in the success of the Giro victory, which counts for Contador’s six grand tour career victory, he will next turn his attention to the Tour de France.</p><p>
</p><p>
“I will enjoy this Giro victory to the maximum with my family and friends,” Contador said. “I will see what happens when it comes to the Tour. We will see how I recover from this Giro and I will meet with my sport directors to see what we will do.”</p>

More...