After a stunning debut year with Ag2r-La Mondiale last season, Domenico Pozzovivo steps up his preparations for this year’s Giro d’Italia with a return to the Tour of Oman. Ninth last time out, Pozzovivo was one of three riders for the French team to earn a top ten finish – Rinaldo Nocentini and Maxime Bouet the others. And Ag2r-La Mondiale arrive in Oman with a strong climbing unit again this year, with Pozzovivo, Blel Kadri and Christophe Riblon all included.
Pozzovivo is set to target the Giro again in 2014 after tenth last year and sixth at the Vuelta. Up against a strong field in Oman, it will be the ideal form-finder for the Italian climbing ace. His ninth place last year owed much to his performance on Green Mountain, after missing some splits earlier in the race. If he can learn from his mistakes, and still be in overall contention come stage five, he certainly has the ability to make an early mark on the season.
