wake up Nudge the colleague on the sofa, your colleague in the office or ring the doorbell of their neighbor. Call your family member so they don’t miss it. Tune in to the Giro, there’s finally a battle. The favorites face, move, put the cheek, attack, stand alone at the head. And, surprise, the most ambitious, the least calculating wins. Lesson for the claws.
The one who spent the most cartridges was João Almeida, whose team set a hard pace. The Portuguese was also the first to attack with 5 km to go. And the one from the UAE won the stage on Mount Bondone. Although he couldn’t be alone because Geraint Thomas stuck to his wheel to regain the jersey and distance Roglic.
Nothing for a walk. The tran-tran ended. The UAE bet hard. 14 km from the summit, he steps forward with Formolo, Vine and McNulty. The three squires of the Portuguese select the group, they leave it stunned. Armirail says goodbye to the borrowed rose. Six men remain at the top: the three favorites on the podium, the Irishman Dunbar, a very inspired Vine and Kuss, pending a puzzling Roglic.
The Slovenian suffers. Here is the answer. It is not plethoric. He didn’t move; I could not. This is the reality. It was not a definitive death. The good work of Kuss, his lieutenant, saved him from elimination. He lost half a minute.
Almeida, young, is driven by the desire to win. After four Giros he is looking for his first stage. Years pass and the veteran Thomas remains solid. This is how he won the 2018 Tour, without ostentation but without losing sight of the goal. Since the yellow of Paris he has only achieved three triumphs. The Portuguese wins the sprint, a reward for his insistence. The Welshman regains the rose, a reward for his perseverance. “If you don’t try, you never know. I tried and I succeeded”, says Almeida, whose victory (the UAE’s third) gives him morale. “I’ll go for more”, he warns.
