Tour spot gives Downing chance to shine

At the age of 32, the Yorkshireman made his Grand Tour debut on Saturday when Team Sky rolled down the starting ramp for the team time-trial into Turin – and it had been a long time in coming.

Downing – who was 184th after the opening 19.3km prologue time trial in Italy, and in the first road stage crossed the line 38th – was a prolific winner on the domestic road racing scene for more than a decade before being given an opportunity with the new British super team in their inaugural season last year.

There have been numerous successes, disappointments and near misses throughout his career, meaning for Downing the 3,524 kilometres and 21 stages throughout Italy will be all the sweeter.

He said: “It’s going to be a hard one, but it’s definitely worth the wait. For the last few weeks it’s been a bit surreal. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and now it’s happening it’s pretty amazing, just a dream come true.”

After numerous early domestic successes, there were times when Downing contemplated walking away, thinking he would never ride a Grand Tour – the Tours of Italy, France and Spain.

At the end of 2002, after the ambitious Linda McCartney team – a squad which also contained Bradley Wiggins – and Australian IteamNova.com failed in successive seasons, he spent six months off the bike and worked as a clothing manager in a friend’s motorbike shop in Sheffield.

Downing, though, continued to be involved and during his spell selling bike leathers and helmets he went to the Lincoln Grand Prix to support his brother, Dean.

The race inspired Downing to set about his comeback and he handed in his notice the following day. He enjoyed further success on the domestic scene before earning a contract in the United States with the Health Net team, only for visa problems to ensure it was a short-lived adventure.

But he returned to Europe and in 2009, he enjoyed a stellar season, winning Lincoln for a third time and taking the Tour of Ireland title ahead of a field including seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

Those victories earned Downing a contract with the BSkyB-backed, British-run Team Sky squad and he grasped his opportunity with both hands.

Downing had numerous successes in his first year with Team Sky, including a stage win at the Criterium International and overall victory in the Tour de Wallonie, and was disappointed to miss out on riding a Grand Tour. Now he hopes the Giro, which finishes on May 29, will be the first of many.

“This year, I wanted to really target and ride a Grand Tour,” he added. “I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in.”

Alessandro Petacchi edged out Team Sky’s Mark Cavendish as he won the first mass sprint of this year’s Giro d’Italia although the Briton has taken the general classification lead after the second day.