TOUR OF ITALY | 12/05/2024 | 6.07pm
by Claudio Ghisalberti
Mario Cipollini has an enlightening vision of cycling. Not only is his point of view never banal, he sees racing with special eyes and sensitivity. Note additional details. He manages to surprise you with his comments. So even today it is better to follow the Captain’s wheel to carefully analyze this 9th stage of the Giro d’Italia.
Why do you expect me to talk about the risks that Pogacar would have taken in the sprint or why Milan let themselves come back from behind, right? Here it is, polished after a long six hours.
«There are situations that I can’t even understand. I see things in progress that I wasn’t used to experiencing.”
Go Mario.
«So: when I ran I was the reference sprinter. But I never found teams that helped mine. Here, with finishing orders in hand, can we say that the reference sprinter is Milan? Well. But explain to me why you think Alpecin was shooting all day.”
No, you tell me which is better.
«When Alaphilippe – who is busy but is no longer the same as before – attacked, Lidl Trek had already taken command of the situation. At that point Alpecin had to get behind the wheel and save energy for the final, for Groves’ sprint. I err? Here, instead they gave everything. Then the Australian had no one for the finale. Result: 7th. Very strange. Shall I tell you another one?
Tell me I’ll take note.
«Lidl Trek came here to the Giro focusing everything on Milan’s sprints, without thinking about the ranking. But what if Pogacar doesn’t move on the final straight when Narvaez catches him?”
Under the showers.
“Precisely. Not only without nPogacar they never take him back, but then Consonni takes the sprint to Milan who is beaten. Yet the last kilometers were quite easy, no extraordinary things were needed to control the race. Instead Narvaez almost wins. Three escapes arrived in one week.”
Many commentators criticized Pogacar for the ending. According to them, she risked too much.
«Tadej did a great job, anyway there’s rest tomorrow. What do you want it to be. Everything comes naturally to him and he tried to give a boost to his partner Molano. Pogacar has almost recklessness in the management of his talent and his abilities. He does things with the simplicity of a boy. They come to him almost for fun. The champions of the past were more calculating, more thoughtful. He is like that, instinctive. When he feels like it, he turns the knob and accelerates. But you can see that he moves naturally. Thomas is the opposite. When the race gets complicated he slides behind him, so his companions have to go and get him, put the pacifier in his mouth and bring him back to the front.”
But was Pogacar wrong to move to the left?
“Hand. He was already on the left and with the road turning slightly that way he had to go there, towards the barriers. If he had moved towards the center of the road he would have had to cut across the entire road. And if someone had anticipated the sprint from behind he would have hit him.”
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