With Pogacar taking a breather after three stages, it’s Italy’s turn. The first joy comes from Jonathan Milan, as predicted: according to the day before, in Andora the Friulian chooses the right side to impose his powerful sprint. Second victory at the Giro, plus the cyclamen jersey already won a year ago on his debut: not bad for the Friulian grenadier who at 23 years old is well on his way to joining the speed elite.
“It’s the same emotion as a year ago, when I won for the first time, again on May 7th, this time in front of my family. The team did a superb job, I tried to take the downhill ahead and start at the moment right”, says Jonny Milan, after a finale dominated by the blue quartet of the chase: he was the winner, his good friend Consonni was an exemplary trailblazer and before that his ‘rival’ Pippo Ganna opened the dance on Capo Mele, four from the finish line, with a surprise attack that faded in the final kilometre. “It would have been nice to see where Lamon would have arrived…”, jokes Superpippo, already in the breakaway at the start of the stage, quoting Tokyo’s fourth golden man.
On the day in which it is confirmed that the best Italy comes from the track, Pogacar remains calm and leaves it to the others. Having animated three out of three stages at the start of the Giro has divided the fans between those who always want to enjoy the phenomenon and those who accuse it of wasting energy and making enemies: regardless of opinions, having sparked a debate on the race is a great merit. Certainly, with him in the Giro you never get bored: to the advice of others, the Slovenian prefers his own head, that of a champion who doesn’t make calculations and, if the desire strikes, he goes. It was expected that he would also do it on Capo Mele, one of the obstacles in Sanremo, but no: “I wasn’t in a good position to follow Ganna, today I was a good boy”, he explains in the only moment in which he shows himself, in the interviews after the race. Coloring his day of serenity comes the news that his great rival Vingegaard is back on the bike a month after the crash in Spain and is pedaling with the hope of going to the Tour: exactly what a true champion like Pogacar hopes for.
Order of arrival 4th stage Acqui Terme-Andora: 1) Milan (Lidl) km 190 in 4h 16’03” (average 44.523), 2) Groves (Nzl), 3) Bauhaus (Ger), 4) Kooij (Ola ), 5) Merlier (Bel), 6) Dancers, 8) Zanoncello, 10) Lonardi.
Ranking: 1) Pogacar (Slo) in 15h 19’05”, 2) Thomas (Gbr) at 46”, 3) Martinez (Col) at 47”, 4) Uijtdebroeks (Bel) at 55”, 5 ) Rubio (Col) at 56”, 6) Fortunato at 1’07”, 15) Conci at 1’44”, 24) Tiberi at 2’50”, 33) Pellizzari at 6’30”.
