Volk and Stage 5 of the Tour de France. Team Katusha In 2009 he won the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. His results show experience, comfort, and power on the cobblestones and on the Belgian hills ("hellingen"). In aftermath of his 2nd place in the 2009 Paris–Roubaix, Pozzato claimed that when avoiding a crash of Thor Hushovd he lost 4 or 5 seconds and the chance for victory. He also suggested that Boonen benefited from the slipstream of official motorcycles to augment his lead. In 2010 he has been accused by several riders, including Bjorn Leukemans, Boonen and Philippe Gilbert for his "negative tactics" during key races. This resulted in the nickname "The Shadow". Lampre-Merida In 2013, Pozzato earned his first victory of the year in the Trofeo Laigueglia, held in Liguria, Italy on mainly narrow, twisting and turning roads. His team reeled in the breakaway and controlled the front of the leading group when Mauro Santambrogio () attacked with to cover, with Pozzato jumping in his slipstream. The sprint was contested by 4 riders, Pozzato getting the best of them. This marked Pozzato's third win in the event, a record in the race's history. In September, he raced the GP Ouest-France and despite not being a top favourite, he won the race, becoming just the fifth Italian to do that. Southeast Pro Cycling In 2016 Pozzato joined the Italian-based Southeast Pro Cycling Team. In December 2018 he announced his retirement from competition. Doping ban In 2012, Pozzato was banned from cycling for three months by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) after it was found that he had worked with infamous doctor Michele Ferrari from 2005 to 2008. CONI had looked to ban him for a year but were forced to reduce it to a three months thanks to a technicality. Major results 1998 UCI Junior Road World Championships 2nd Road race 3rd Time trial 2nd Team pursuit, UCI Junior Track World Championships 1999 3rd Team pursuit, UCI Junior Track World Championships 4th Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championships 2001 9th Trofeo Luis Puig 9th Paris–Bourges 2002 1st Overall Vuelta a Cuba 1st Stage 11a 1st Duo Normand (with Evgeni Petrov) 1st Giro del Lago Maggiore 1st Tour du Lac Léman Tour de Normandie 1st Prologue, Stages 2, 3 & 5 Tour of Slovenia 1st Stages 4 & 7 Tour de l'Avenir 1st Stages 1 (ITT) & 5 1st Prologue