BROCON PASS – Almost thirty years ago I recounted Tobias Steinheuser’s victory at the Tour of Regions. It was 1995 and the German succeeded his compatriot Baldinger, preceding Uwe Peschel and our Sgnaolin on the podium. Curiously that’s what I think as Georg Steinhauser, his son, crosses the finish line of today’s stage and abandons himself enthusiastically in the arms of the EF Education-Easy Post staff at the finish line.
In the last kilometers of the climb he took off everything he could. First the glasses, then even the gloves. And at the head of an escape that lasted 136 kilometres, with the blessing and compliments of Pogacar, the 22 year old German won his first victory as a professional. His previous success also came in Italy in 2021, in Valnontey stage at the Giro di Val d’Aosta, in which he wore the Tyrol-Ktm jersey.
«I removed everything I could – he says – I wanted to be as light as possible to be as fast as possible. I think that’s what it takes to win a stage in a great Giro. The gloves are a small thing, so it is possible that it was a search for mainly psychological lightness. But it is also true that I ran without the power meter, I preferred to listen to my sensations. The first time I took it off was on the queen stage. My technicians told me that the bike would be 200 grams lighter and then I thought: “Okay, I don’t really need it!”. Today was the same thing, but I couldn’t do without it for trainingin that case it is precious.”
The runner father
He had already broken away in the Livigno stage, the one without a power meter, but at the end he had been recaptured by Quintana and Pogacar after 176 kilometers of escape. That third place wasn’t enough for him and so he tried again. The family tree says he is the son of a professional and grandson of a giant. Jan Ullrich married her father Tobias’s sister and had two children with her, before falling into her troubles. On other occasions Georg said that he doesn’t spend much time with Jan, while his father is often close to him.
«He came to greet me on the day of Livigno – he says – even if he always tried to stay in the background of things. She let me make my own decisions, do my own thing. For him it was simply important that I like this sport. He has acknowledged several times that for him it is as if his career and mine are very distant, truly different eras. But he has always been my reference, having had no idols in my career.
«I just do my own thing, but obviously I watch the races. And if I see Froome going uphill in the Tour de France, I recognize that it is something extraordinary. Or Kwiatkowski winning the Milan-Sanremo by a few centimetres. Those are moments you remember forever and I just think I want to be like them and achieve results like those. And today is the first time I’ve achieved something so special and I’m super happy about it.”
Oversized climber
The problem is that being 189 centimeters tall (just one more than his father) it is difficult to label him. When he won that stage in Val d’Aosta he left Hellemose behind, with an advantage of 3’41”. Escapes are his daily bread, the climbs do not make him uncomfortable despite his height and 65 kilos, which, if you look closely, aren’t that many.
«There have been moments in my career – Steinhauser explains and smiles – in which I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to go uphill. But I feel like this stage proved it once again. Other tests in the past have also shown that they are capable of: maybe my body is tall, but I also have enough muscles to handle it. If anything, what amazes me and makes me happy is my recovery. I entered week three a little nervous because it’s the first big Giro and a lot of young riders are super tired. For me so far it’s been the opposite. This morning I felt good, I’m recovering. So I definitely think that the Grand Tours are made for me, but I don’t know if it’s for ranking or chasing stages. For now I’ll enjoy this moment and then we’ll see what comes.”
No pressure
What is certain is that the team will be breathing new air from this evening onwards. Having not brought Carapaz to the Giro, who could have thought about the classification, and with Chaves under the weather, it was clear that the only way to carve out a space for yourself was to hunt for stages. But this seems not to have been a source of pressure, in a team that actually appears very light-hearted and leaves the riders a lot of air and freedom.
«In fact – confirms Steinhauser – I don’t see much pressure. We guys have a lot of fun and obviously we are here to race and to try to win. I feel that the sporting directors have a lot of faith in us and until now we had tried many times, but it hadn’t worked. Today went well and now we’ll see what happens in the next few days. I had a lot of fun. I guess to do this job you have to have fun and love suffering. Today was a fantastic day. Just running in front of everyone is an amazing feeling and getting to the finish line is just super special. I still can’t believe it.”
Speaking of catwalks
A bit of sun has just arrived at the finish line. After a Giro spent entirely in the sun, for the second day they took water and cold and even today they have 12 kilometers ahead by bike to get to the buses. A private room at the top allowed him to change, but perhaps it would be a good idea to think about this too when calling for walkways in the rain. From the beginning of the Giro, more than once the runners had to cover kilometers and kilometers after the finish: from the 24 in Prati di Tivo to those in Cusano Mutri. We have reached the seventeenth day of racing and everything is fine. Tiberi defended the white jersey and increased his lead. Pellizzari paid for yesterday’s efforts. Steinhauser laughs blissfully: for him today the effort had the sweetest taste.
