He did not open his arms, he did not raise them to the sky. She did not point out the jersey nor did she have a thoughtful dedication. He could only raise his hands to his head and grab his helmet. Pure spontaneity. Total disbelief. Mouth open in surprise. He had just won. If he. What a triumph. A multi-carat success for Guaje.
There are times when victories have to be valued by the stage. Sometimes, they shine more because of the route, because of the hardness of the profile. Others are praised by rivals over whom one prevails. That of Pelayo Sánchez, in the Giro, on the day of the sterrato, with Alaphilippe, a true world champion, bowing his head, is great for all three conditions. He had everything and more.
In his first Giro, in his first big one with Movistar, in the first week of the race, Pelayo Sánchez proved to be a true stage hunter. The 24-year-old Asturian won the day on the white lands of dirt and dust, in a kind of classic, held as if the next day, this Friday, there was no important time trial. The landscapes of Tuscany inspired Sánchez, who was not satisfied with being in front but dared to be familiar with a world star like Julian Alaphilippe. The former Burgos-BH cyclist allowed himself the luxury of defeating him in the sprint to get on the podium.
“Is incredible. I have no words. “It’s crazy,” Sánchez said at the finish line, still pinching himself. His companions Einer Rubio and also Albert Torres had hugged him. Juanpe López (Lidl) approached him to congratulate him in person. Even the elegant Alaphilippe himself acknowledged his superiority upon arrival at Rapolano Terme.
It had been five years since a Spaniard had won a stage in the Giro, since Pello Bilbao did so on Monte Avena on July 1, 2019. That anomaly ended thanks to one of the five Spanish cyclists in the Corsa Rosa. Few but they make a lot of noise because like Pelayo they are very clear about what they want and what they are looking for.
“I have tried to save energy since the beginning of the Giro for the day I went into the break. What I couldn’t imagine was that I would win the first time,” he explained about his little ant tactic, always saving strength for the right moment.
“Winning in the big game is a dream. Last year in the Vuelta I came close,” Sánchez recalled, referring to the journey through the Sierra de Guadarrama, with ten climbs, when he escaped with Evenepoel and Rui Costa, two other world champions. Then the veteran Poels beat them all.
But Pelayo showed that he was prepared for the jump. A few months, in January, he confirmed it by winning the Pollença-Port d’Andratx trophy ahead of Vlasov, Van Wilder and McNulty. And yesterday there he was, in the last 20 kilometers, Pelayo Sánchez together with a double world champion like Alaphilippe and Luke Plapp who was in Paris-Nice fighting with the best, a powerful Australian, formerly of Ineos. It seemed that the one who was extra, the one who was left over was the Spaniard, who had just arrived at the World Tour. Big mistake.
The Asturian was not a stone guest. And he played with his breakaway companions as if he were a veteran, in the purest Freire style. He made them nervous. He even tried to leave them on the Serre di Rapolano slope. Just crossing the banner of the last kilometer he wanted to be the last of the group of three, to see him face to face. Dominating the scene. So he saw Alaphilippe start, he caught up with him and overtook him on the outside, on the long side, a sign of having a lot of gas.
Pelayo Sánchez is a treasure. with a lot of class. Carlos Rodríguez and Juan Ayuso, the two stars of the future, are not alone.
