Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Joe Dombrowski – Proving to be Well Rounded

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HomeInterviewsJoe Dombrowski - Proving to be Well Rounded

‘Stars of the future?’ Here’s one – please just remember where you read it first. After the toughest stage of the Tour of California – traversing brutal Mount Baldy, many were asking ‘who’s Joe Dombrowski?’

But to those who study the U23 results, Dombrowski’s ride was a logical progression. Last year in the Valle d’Aosta stage race in Italy, the 21 year-old took a stage win and was second on GC. Next to the Tour de l’Avenir and Baby Giro, Aosta is the main hunting ground for Pro Tour talent scouts.

Joe Dombrowski
And on the subject of the Baby Giro, Dombrowski this week won a stage in this year’s race, assuming race leadership but losing it next day on the Strade Bianche.

Dombrowski had offers after his Aosta performance but chose to stay with Livestrong for 2012.

His US season kicked off in style, with a podium place in the high altitude New Mexican, Tour of the Gila.

VeloVeritas spoke to Dombrowski after that performance, in advance of his stand out ride over Mount Baldy.

Joe Dombrowski
Joe looking relaxed at the Tour of GIla.

Gila – your ‘break through race?’

“In some sense, yes, Gila was a break through race for me.

“Last year at Gila I proved that I could do well in the mountains by taking a podium spot on the first and last stage.

“Last season I also finished third on GC, and took the KOM jersey at Ronde de L’Isard, and won a stage and was second overall at Giro della Valle d’Aosta.

“While I did finish well in the GC those stage races last year, I knew that to be a true GC contender I would have to improve my time trialling.

“I’ve never ridden a great time trial, and to defend my position, and then even finish on the podium in a field of strong time triallists was definitely a breakthrough performance for me.”

Did you surprise yourself in the Gila TT – is that something you’ve been working on?

“It was a big surprise!

“I told Axel [Merckx, Bontrage-Livestrong DS] that I wanted to finish top 15, and I think he was a little dismissive of the prospect.

“Even I didn’t think I would be able to finish third! Going into the Gila time trial last year, I had ridden a TT bike only a handful of times.

“This winter, I made a really concerted effort to spend a lot of time on it.

“It seems to be paying off!”

How did your winter training go ? do you consciously ‘hold back’ because of your age and build?

“The winter went really well for me.

“I didn’t have any injuries or sickness, and the weather was unseasonably warm.

“I’m only 21 years old, and really only have a few years of racing under my belt.

“I think it’s important to go for steady trajectory, and shoot for consistency, rather than go off the deep end in search of marginal gains.”

Joe Dombrowski
Safe in the bunch at the World U23 RR Championships.

Is Jeremiah Bishop still your coach ? – how has your training changed over the years?

“I still work with Jeremiah, and it’s a great relationship, as he is both a coach and a training partner.

“It makes for a really hands-on approach.

“As I’ve progressed, my training has become more specific and regimented, but still with a focus on having fun.

“I didn’t have any races on my programme in April, so to fill the void, I motor paced some of the stages from the Tour of Virginia and Tour DuPont. The caveat?

“I followed the course exactly with a GPS unit, and “raced” the peloton of the past over the same course using time splits from those stages.

“It made for a really fun “virtual stage race” at home that was as close to a race simulation workout as you could get without being in the peloton.”

Your rides in Aosta – did the US cycling media make a fuss?

“It was actually relatively quiet.

“The Europeans, and the Italians especially, hold the race in high regard, but it seems that most of the American fans know little of the event.”

Joe Dombrowski
Joe is targeting the Baldy stage at the TOC.

What are your goals for California?

“California will be my first time racing World Tour riders, so it’s hard for me to say where I will stack up.

“I’d like to go for the best young rider jersey, and target the stage to Mt. Baldy.”

Have you done Ca. stage recons?

“I just got back from riding stage one with some of my teammates.

“It was really valuable as the roads are narrow, and have poor surfaces.

“I think it could be especially chaotic since no team will have control.”

Gila must have allayed your fears about Bontrager being taken seriously in California?

“I think we earned a lot of respect at Gila this year.

“I held the best young rider jersey everyday, and ended up third overall on GC.

“In addition, my team mates Ian Boswell and Lawson Craddock went one/two on the queen stage.

“The field at Gila was deeper than before, and I think our results proved that we deserved our invite to Tour of California, and have the potential to make a mark on the race next week.”

Are Utah and Colorado on the agenda?

“We haven’t received an invite to either yet, but the team is hoping to get in.”

Will you be in Europe much, this season?

“I only have my programme set through the end of June so far, but I will be going over to Italy after California to do the Baby Giro with the US National Team.

“Aosta has moved to July this year, and I’m thinking about trying to do that as well after a mid-season break.”

How do your trade team and US Cycling sort out your programme on the international front?

“My trade team director, Axel Merckx, and the National Team director, Marcello Albasini, work together to make a programme for me.

“It’s a balance of doing races which suit me, and going for results, but also doing races that aren’t necessarily suited to me with the goal of getting experience and becoming a well rounded rider.”

Joe Dombrowski
Joe pauses for a snap at the U23 World RR Championships last year.

The Worlds course in Limburg will be much more your thing than Copenhagen was.

“I’ve heard it will be a very difficult course, with a hard finish.

“The finishing climb might be a bit short for me, but if I’m on good form, and would be able to help some of the other Americans I’d love to.”

What do you want out of 2012?

“Last year I think I proved that I could do well in some of the harder races, especially if they went uphill.

“This year, I want to prove that I can be well rounded, and be a threat in a variety of races.”

Would you prefer to be a pro in the US or Europe?

“I want to be racing in Europe on the World Tour level.”

Joe Dombrowski
Smashing it at a recent training camp.

Have you been following Taylor Phinney’s progress in Italy?

“Yes, it’s been exciting as he is a friend to many of us, and an alumnus of our program.

“He’s obviously still very young, and it will be fun to watch his career as he develops.

“He’s a super talent, and the sky is the limit.”

STOP PRESS:  Joe smashed the race to the top of the Gavia and retook the Maglia Rosa!  ItalianCycling.net has a neat video covering that stage here.

Result - Stage 4 of the Girobio 2012, Avezzano - Monte

Stage Result

1 Joe DOMBROSKI USA USA 21 4:34:20 8 8
2 Fabio ARU ITA 22 +50 5 5
3 Ilnur ZAKARIN RUS RUS 23 +55 2 2
4 Francesco Manuel BONGIORNO ITA 22 +1:14
5 Matteo DI SERAFINO ITA 26 +1:44
6 Edoardo ZARDINI ITA 23 +1:57
7 Lorenzo DI REMIGIO ITA 20 +2:12
8 Pierre Paolo PENASA ITA 21 +2:14
9 Daniel ABREU VEN 26 +2:14
10 Davide FORMOLO ITA 20 +2:14
11 Gennadiy TATARINOV RUS RUS 21 +2:16
12 Alexandr SHUSHEMOIN KAZ KAZ 25 +2:21
13 Matteo CIAVATTA ITA 24 +2:24
14 Nicola GAFFURINI ITA 23 +2:24
15 Patrick FACCHINI ITA 24 +2:24
16 Davide VILLELLA ITA 21 +2:24
17 Donato DE JESO ITA 23 +2:42
18 Stanislau BAZHKOU BLR 21 +3:50
19 Nazar JUMABEKOV KAZ KAZ 25 +3:51
20 Sergey CHERNETSKI RUS RUS 22 +3:51
21 Ricardo PICHETTA ITA 25 +3:51
22 Graziano DI LUCA ITA 20 +4:16
23 Roberto GIACOBAZZI ITA 21 +4:17
24 Mantas BLIAKEVICIUS LTU 23 +4:19
25 Andrea VACCHER ITA 24 +4:36
26 Matteo BUSATO ITA 25 +4:44
27 Sergey POMOSHNIKOV RUS RUS 22 +4:44
28 Miras BEDERBEKOV KAZ KAZ 23 +4:44
29 Devid TINTORI ITA 23 +4:44
30 Giuseppe BROVELLI ITA 21 +4:44
31 Ettore CARLINI ITA 23 +4:51
32 Sjoerd KOUWENHOVEN NED NED 22 +4:58
33 Gian Marco DI FRANCESCO ITA 23 +5:05
34 Simone ANTONINI ITA 21 +5:53
35 Pietro TEDESCO ITA 25 +6:30
36 Matthias KRIZEK AUT 24 +6:30
37 Diego ROSA ITA 23 +6:39
38 Igor FROLOV RUS RUS 22 +7:16
39 Mauro VICINI ITA 24 +8:04
40 Michele FOPPOLI ITA 23 +8:10
41 Michele GAZZARRA ITA 22 +8:28
42 Mirko PUCCIONI ITA 23 +8:28
43 Robbie SQUIRE USA USA 22 +8:32
44 Lawrence WARBASSE USA USA 22 +8:32
45 Federico POLITANO ITA 20 +8:32
46 Antonio MEROLESE ITA 20 +8:41
47 Mirko ULIVIERI ITA 21 +8:49
48 Giuseppe CONVERSANO ITA 24 +8:49
49 Alessio CAMILLI ITA 23 +9:41
50 Stefano DI CARLO ITA 25 +9:43
51 Antonino PUCCIO ITA 25 +9:43
52 Antonio DONEDDU ITA 24 +9:48
53 Arman KAMYSHEV KAZ KAZ 21 +10:03
54 Ruslan TLEUBAYEV KAZ KAZ 25 +10:03
55 Roberto GRESELIN ITA 23 +10:29
56 Mattia MORESCO ITA 22 +10:31
57 Diego ZANCO ITA 24 +10:40
58 Emanuel PIASKOWY POL 21 +10:58
59 Michele SIMONI ITA 23 +10:58
60 Mario SGRINZATO ITA 23 +11:22
61 Thomas PINAGLIA ITA 23 +11:22
62 Yonathan SALINAS VEN 22 +11:22
63 Dominik OBORSKI POL 20 +11:26
64 Mirko TEDESCHI ITA 25 +14:25
65 Matteo MAMMINI ITA 23 +15:12
66 Norman FALCO ITA 22 +15:12
67 Siarhei PAPOK BLR 24 +15:12
68 Davide CENSORI ITA 23 +15:12
69 Matthew WOODS GBR 20 +15:12
70 Marco CARDINALI ITA 20 +15:12
71 Jakub NOVAK CZE 22 +15:12
72 Alfio LOCATELLI ITA 22 +15:12
73 Raffaele BACCI ITA 20 +15:12
74 Mirko TEDESCHI ITA 23 +15:21
75 Marco D’URBANO ITA 21 +15:32
76 Stefano CORINO ITA 22 +16:14
77 Ivan BALYKIN ITA 22 +16:45
78 Tommaso SALVETTI ITA 24 +16:47
79 Enrico BARBIN ITA 22 +16:47
80 Davide GANI ITA 22 +16:47
81 Corrado LAMPA ITA 22 +16:47
82 Nicola BOEM ITA 23 +16:47
83 Nicola MARTINELLO ITA 23 +16:47
84 Carmelo Consolato PANTO’ ITA 26 +16:47
85 Angelo GARGARO ITA 24 +18:05
86 Luca DUGANI FLUMIAN ITA 25 +25:59
87 Mirko TROSINO ITA 20 +29:09
88 Eugeny ZHUPA ALB 22 +29:09
89 Pietro OSELE ITA 20 +29:30
90 Jesper ASSELMAN NED NED 22 +29:30
91 Attilio NICHELE ITA 23 +29:43
92 Luca VACCARI ITA 24 +30:05
93 Peter KONING NED NED 22 +30:05
94 Francesco FLORA ITA 21 +30:10
95 Isaia MODENA ITA 21 +30:10
96 Michel FRUZZETTI ITA 26 +30:10
97 Nikita UMERBEKOV KAZ KAZ 21 +30:10
98 Marco PADOVAN ITA 20 +30:10
99 Alfonso FIORENZA ITA 21 +30:29
100 Tomas ALBERIO ITA 23 +30:29
101 Giorgio BOCCHIOLA ITA 23 +30:29
102 Gianfranco ZILIOLI ITA 22 +30:29
103 Matteo COLLODEL ITA 24 +30:29
104 Claudio DE GER 22 +30:47
105 Franco PIZZINGRILLI ITA 22 +31:04
106 Mike TEUNISSEN NED NED 20 +31:04
107 Alberto CECCHIN ITA 23 +31:07
108 Federico BORELLA ITA 23 +31:24
109 Eric SHEPPARD AUS 21 +31:53
110 Wouter WIPPERT NED NED 22 +35:47
111 Giorgio FAVARETTO ITA 21 +35:47
112 Elmar REINDERS NED NED 20 +36:16
113 Massimo COLEDAN ITA 22 +36:16
114 Paolo SIMION ITA 20 +36:16
115 Daniel SUMMERHILL USA USA 23 +36:16
116 Michael GUASTINI ITA 20 +36:16
117 Michele VIOLA ITA 20 +36:16
118 Omar SOTTOCORNOLA ITA 24 +36:16
119 Mateusz DUBIENIECKI POL 19 +36:16
120 Nicola RUFFONI ITA 22 +36:16
121 Mattia POZZO ITA 23 +36:16
122 Nakya TRAVERSI ITA 21 +36:16
123 Wojciech FRANCZAK POL 19 +36:16
124 Rostyslav ZHUKOVSKYY UKR 22 +36:16
125 Paolo TEDONE ITA 21 +36:16
126 Marco TIZZA ITA 20 +36:16
127 Marco PRODIGIOSO ITA 25 +36:16
128 Sebastiano DAL CAPPELLO ITA 22 +36:16
129 Pasquale SIRICA ITA 20 +36:16
130 Mattia MARCELLI ITA 21 +36:16
131 Anton VOROBYEV RUS RUS 22 +36:16
132 Andrea GIULIANI ITA 20 +36:16
133 Richard STOCKHAUSEN GER 24 +36:16
134 Eugenio BANI ITA 21 +36:16
135 Rino MAESTRINI ITA 23 +36:16
136 Matteo CREMONI ITA 21 +36:16
137 Duber QUINTERO COL 22 +36:16
138 Alberto NARDIN ITA 22 +36:16
139 Mauro MARCASSOLI ITA 20 +36:16
140 Marco CANNUCCIA ITA 22 +36:16
141 Dario MANTELLE ITA 22 +36:16
142 Andrea CORNA ITA 20 +36:16
143 Alessandro RICCARDI ITA 20 +36:16
144 Nicolo ROCCHI ITA 21 +36:16
145 Andrea DAL COL ITA 21 +36:16
146 Marco BENFATTO ITA 24 +36:16
147 Daniele CAVASIN ITA 24 +36:16
148 Vitali BRYCHAK UKR 25 +36:16
149 Davide GOMIRATO ITA 24 +36:16
150 Matteo AZZOLINI ITA 21 +36:16
151 Alessio VESCOVO ITA 22 +36:27
152 Andrea ORSI ITA 22 +36:27
153 Andrea ZANETTI ITA 23 +36:52
154 Marco ZAMPARELLA ITA 25 +36:56
155 Mirko NOSOTTI ITA 22 +36:58
156 Andrea MANFREDI ITA 20 +37:07
157 Samuele ANICHINI ITA 24 +37:07
158 Gianluca LEONARDI ITA 23 +37:09
DNF Ian BOSWELL USA USA 21
DNF Edoardo COSTANZI ITA 24
DNF Onofrio MONZILLO ITA 24
DNS Luigi MILETTA ITA 24
Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

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