Even though the Italians walked away from today’s world road race championship empty handed, and thus concluded an entirely disappointing week on home soil, national coach Paolo Bettini appeared to be satisfied man at the conclusion of today’s rain-soaked race.
In particular, Bettini heaped praise on the efforts shown by Vincenzo Nibali after his crash.
“The crashes? We knew there was a risk,” Bettini said according to Tuttobiciweb.it. “We talked about the risk this morning and it’s a great pity that the guys crashed at a moment when everything seemed to be under control. We missed Luca [Paolini] in the finale. However, Vincenzo [Nibali] performed magnificently. In fact, they all fought like lions.”
Bettini also added that he thought Nibali would abandon after his crash, and then he took a swipe at the Spanish team.
“When I found Vincenzo on the ground, I thought he wouldn’t remount. He really did great to get back into the race. I thought he would follow Rodriguez as he broke clear and that the two of them would have fought it out. But I prefer a wooden medal [fourth place] rather than lose the way Spain did today,” Bettini concluded.
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