BORA-hansgrohe pats itself on the back after Martinez's second place in Giro: "Not everything went smoothly"

After the unbeatable Tadej Pogacar, Daniel Felipe Martínez of BORA-hansgrohe was the best of the rest in this Giro d'Italia. The Colombian stood on the podium of a grand tour for the first time in his career, which naturally made him very proud.

"This is definitely a highlight of my career," said Martínez after arriving in Rome. "As a child, I dreamed of finishing on the podium in a race like the Giro, so it feels very special to actually achieve this. It was a Giro during which we had to overcome obstacles every day, so I didn’t feel victorious until I actually crossed the finish line in Rome."

"Despite all my performances over the last three weeks, I remained focused until the finish line. I had been in a virtual podium position for so long and was also a target for the competition, but that only motivated me more," continued Martínez. "I also want to thank my teammates and the city for everything they did over the past three weeks. Their dedication made this result possible."

Team manager Gasparotto sees Giro podium as great reward

Team manager Enrico Gasparotto is also satisfied. "We are very happy with this second place in the Giro. Pogacar has dominated this race more than anyone, but Dani was certainly very stable in the mountains. We can’t say that everything went smoothly from the start of this Giro project in November to the finish in Rome, but thanks to the dedication and hard work of all the riders, we have indeed succeeded," said Gasparotto, who had to make some tough decisions along the way (referring to Sam Welsford and Emanuel Buchmann) to the Giro and saw Florian Lipowitz and Danny van Poppel return home.

"Together with Bernie Eisel, I am very pleased with the mentality the riders have shown, which makes this second place feel like a great reward. Dani was able to ride his own race and has finished on the podium of a grand tour for the first time. Hats off to him," concludes the former winner of the Amstel Gold Race.