Wednesday, July 29, 2009

KOM!

The accolades for Team Liquigas' Tour de France performance continue to arrive. After the podium celebration for Franco Pellizotti's KOM title were over, the Venetian climber was awarded the Tour's most combatative rider by the ASO. Pelli's was recognized for his attacking performance that saw him animate the race throughout the three weeks of the Tour.

Race director Jean François Pescheux explained: "We had to choose between Pellizotti, Andy Schleck and Jurgen Van Den Broeck, but in the end we chose Pellizotti who attacked in the Pyrenees, was in the break in the Vosges, and was present also in the Alps, even searching for the stage win on Ventoux!"

Pellizotti won the KOM competition with 210 points, 75 points clear of Egoi Martinez. He was also the first across eleven KOM finish line summits, proving the Cannondale Super Six as the ultimate climbing weapon of choice.

Pellizotti was not the only Liquigas rider with impressive results in France. Young general classification hopefuls for the future Vincenzo Nibali (seventh) and Roman Kreuziger (ninth) both achieved their goals of top-ten finishes, improving on their 2008 Tour de France debuts. On the penultimate stage to Mont Ventoux, the two Liquigas riders remained with the lead riders, even attacking on the fearsome climb.

Team Liquigas also jumped one spot to fourth on the UCI's World Ranking, confirming their place amongst the world's best cycling teams.

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