US Pro Roundtable: Time for a break after long Giro d’Italia

The Giro d’Italia concluded Sunday with a dramatic final time trial in Milano. The five Americans who raced the Giro will put an end to a dramatic and unprecedented racing season.

Throughout the Giro, the U.S. riders in the peloton have offered their insight into tactics, race dynamics, and goals. We would like to thank Brent Bookwalter, Joe Dombrowski, Chad Haga, Brandon McNulty, Joey Rosskopf, and Larry Warbasse for their contributions throughout this exciting of the 2020 Giro d’Italia.

How will you celebrate the end of the Giro d’Italia?

Joe Dombrowski: It is hard to know what to plan for after the Giro as the rules are changing so much regarding traveling or even going out. Naturally, after the last race of the season, you just want to switch off a bit. My wife and I booked a really nice hotel in the center of Milan for a couple of nights after the race, and then we’ll just have to see.

Chad Haga: Well immediately, I think it will be a nice dinner with the team because there are not that many options in these COVID times. And then it will be back to my wife Kate and daughter Elena in Girona, Spain. We’ll eat some ice cream and bake some cookies and we’ll relax a bit before we head back to the US. We just found a new recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies with cloves in it. They are pretty fantastic!

Joey Rosskopf: It’s kind of unique, normally you finish a  grand tour, everyone wants to plan a mini-vacation to recovery, but you’re already looking forward to another race you’re going to do in two weeks’ time, so this year is different in that regard. You can really commit to relaxing after a grand tour without looking ahead too much.

What do you expect to do to unplug during the off-season this year?

Joe Dombrowski: There is a lot of uncertainty with COVID. For the moment our plans are to stay at home in Nice and maybe make a trip back to the U.S. around Christmas to see family, but everything is still just a bit up in the air. We’d like to do some trips and have fun and relax, but that is just dependent on the situation. The main thing is just to switch off a bit from the bike and relax. But to be honest, I have never had such an unclear picture of just what the off-season would look like, just based on what a mess the world is in right now.

Chad Haga: I will do as much gravel biking as I can. I just got a new Cervelo Aspero and I’m looking forward to getting out on there on that when I get back home in Fort Collins.

Joey Rosskopf: The next race won’t be until 2021, so I don’t know how much travel or vacationing is going to happen in this world, but I am really looking forward to getting back to Girona, and eventually back to Georgia. And just do the things you see other people doing all year and you cannot really partake in, just with the racing and travel lifestyle. Just make the most of the time at home.