Andrea VENDRAME. 10 and praise. He calls himself Joker, because his cult and reference film has always been Batman, the character born way back in 1939 from the imagination of Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Batman and Joker, good and evil. The hero and the anti-hero, the black and the white, and in this case it is a pure coincidence that he is also an incurable Juventus player. On 7 April 2016 he was hit by a Seat Altea XL which literally cut him off and left his mark on his body and soul. He looks in the mirror and sees Joker again, with that scar that deeply marks his face: 60 external stitches and 50 internal ones. Years of suffering and dismay, signs that remain on his face and in his head. He resumes his path, with his usual will, with his way of being calm and reckless, black and white, hero and antihero: today Joker is Batman.
Pelayo SANCHEZ. 7. Cutting-edge race for the 24-year-old Spaniard who takes pride of place. Race with no holds barred, even if the blow comes from the one in front of him.
Georg STEINHAUSER. 7.5. A clue is a clue, two clues can be a coincidence, three clues are proof: this boy has talent and talent. He studies like a champion, or perhaps he already is.
Jhonatan NARVAEZ. 6.5. He was the first pink jersey of this Giro, the only one to have partially spoiled Tadej Pogacar’s party (but what if he will then switch to his side to celebrate next year? Ah, to know…), today he returns to the attack with three others adventure companions, all stage winners in this edition of the “corsa rosa”: Georg Steinhauser (EF Education – EasyPost), Pelayo Sánchez (Movistar Team) and Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step). They are all winning men, but today they lose.
Luke PLAPP. 6.5. A lot of effort for the Australian boy from Jayco AlUla. A lot of desire to do, but in the end even the legs run out. After almost three weeks and after a stage like this race with an average of over 40, he’s okay.
Simone VELASCO. 6.5. The 28-year-old Italian champion brings the tricolor to the heart of the competition. Honor the Giro, honor Italian cycling: honor Velasco.
Julian ALAPHILIPPE. 6. He raises hell, he wants to break the world, you can tell from the morning, from the starting rally. He has personality and experience, history and charisma: perhaps today he has a little less legs. Oh well, long live Lou Lou, always!
Manuele TAROZZI. 6. The boy from VF Group Bardiani CSF Faizané takes the finish line of the Intergiro to the hotel ahead of Pelayo Sánchez (Movistar Team). The boy from Faenza decides to do the race, to be seen, to honor it: he does it.
Mattia BAIS. 6. The boy from Polti Kometa doesn’t take his bike for a walk, but attacks the stage with determination. He enters the breakaway of the day, and takes home an honorable twelfth place.
Alessandro DE MARCHI. 6. He comes 14th with the Friuli flag unfurled, he who is the symbol and banner of a land, of a community, of a rough, gentle and welcoming region. People toast the Furlani, proud and never tamed, just like the red of Buja, who waves the banners, symbols of which he is a symbol.
Tadej POGACAR. 7. He gets a puncture with about sixty kilometers to the finish line. It’s the most electrifying moment of his stage: he enjoys getting back into the group, accelerating a little. Just a little, just enough. He almost ends up in the lands when he slips into the final Geraint Thomas and avoids him for nothing. After proving that he is tactically foxy, today he is also fast, like a cat.
Geraint THOMAS. 5. An expert, seasoned runner who knows how to do it, but today intent on checking what’s happening behind him, he doesn’t notice what’s happening in front and touches Tiberi’s rear wheel. Boom, on the floor: a little chicken.
