The Tour arrives in Bologna and the traffic police go on strike: this must be why there is a bit of traffic at the top of the rankings. Four in the lead with the same time after the two laps on San Luca: if it’s not unprecedented, it’s close. It’s not unheard of that Tadej Pogacar of the leading quartet is wearing yellow: even if it hadn’t happened for two years, we knew it could happen right away.
It was also known that the Slovenian would not climb the Bologna hill just to look at the view or the arcades. And in fact: after a quick sprint on the first pass to go get two water bottles and warm up the crowd, on the second lap the phenomenon lights the fuse, transforming the last 500 meters of climbing into hell. The usual Vingegaard remains glued to him, who definitely confirms himself on the ball despite what he went through in the spring. He also confirms that in this Tour too we can safely expect the duel seen in the last ones: first of all, the accounts will have to be done with him and Pogacar. “I’m happy to be back in yellow after coming close a year ago: I tried to break out the group, but Vingegaard proved he was fine”, the Slovenian’s message.
Of those who want to interfere between the traditional litigants, the most ready are the debutant Evenepoel and Carapaz, who recover what they left on the uphill road on the downhill. What is missing is Roglic, who has often been the master on this ramp, between pink jerseys at the Giro and the Tours of Emilia won: the 21 seconds he records, although few, are already an alarm bell . Of those who finish with him, Ciccone smiles: on an explosive climb like that of the Santuario, with those two monsters in circulation, limiting the damage is a good sign.
Speaking of winners, on a day tested for human resistance in the heat there are two. One is the public on the streets: from Cesenatico onwards, and for the whole of Romagna, it is a human chain, which Bologna does not break despite it being a weekend that invites you to escape to the beach. Full on the avenues and on the arrival avenue in the centre, people lined up on San Luca, flags of every nationality because Tours and tourism ultimately have the same root: in short, a resounding success. The other is the winner of the stage: Kevin Vauquelin, 23 years old, a talent from Normandy, Calvados department, last in the list of French candidates to break their fast at the Tour, which has lasted since 1985. He has tried everything on a bike, from bmx at the track where he has a decent medal collection, he has long been a star on social media, to the point that his team offers interviews with him in homeopathic doses: what matters is that he is a man for stage races. On the run from the start with ten others, the Frenchman closes the issue by going alone on the last ascent of the San Luca, just under 15 minutes from the finish, leaving the polka-dotted Norwegian Abrahamsen, on the attack like the day before. Two French victories in two stages: the Tour d’Italie is so good for the cousins that perhaps they get into the habit of returning here.
