Two hundred quiet kilometers and the last five at full speed. Almost five hours of boredom and ten minutes hyperventilating. All together from the start and suddenly, nerves, elbows and pushes to maintain the position. This is how curious and dangerous cycling can be. The Giro is not the Tour, where the tension is palpable in the environment. But when the finish line in San Salvo approaches and the peloton smells the volata, the sprint, the friends disappear.
"Save the first week", asked Evenepoel after receiving the first pink jersey, after the time trial in Ortona. No sooner said than done. On the first day of the online stage, things turned ugly with a fall 3.7 kilometers from the finish line. That is to say, outside the security section that protects you in time of any incident. Evenepoel, the leader, and Roglic, the other favourite, two who know how hard the falls are, narrowly escaped the fall, which split the peloton in two.
"I've seen the fall," the Belgian discovered. “I think it was a nasty accident but that's how racing is. It's not a good time to talk. The best thing is to be able to arrive safe and sound, ”he reflected on vulnerability. Up ahead, Geraint Thomas or João Almeida also saved the furniture, two who have experience and know how to position themselves well.
Worse luck ran other applicants. Like Tao Geoghegan Hart, the winner of the 2020 Giro, Jay Vine, Buitrago or Healy, four climbers for whom much is expected in the third week but who have started off on the wrong foot. They, like Pinot, lost 19 seconds more than those that fell in the initial time trial.
It was on a straight. Some fences to the left of the peloton increased the danger. Suddenly, when the Alpecin were preparing the arrival for their sprinter, Groves. There was a lurch to the right. The Jumbos, who were protecting Roglic, moved in unison. And those who were next to him were scared. Kanter, Gaviria's pitcher at Movistar, fell. With him, also Tusveld and Hoole, one of Pedersen's domestiques, who had to put his foot down to keep from falling.
The worst part was taken by two spectators who were next to some hedges capturing the passing of the peloton, who were carried away by the fallen cyclists when they slipped on the asphalt.
In addition to Pedersen, Cavendish, now in Astana, was not able to compete in the sprint either. And Gaviria, without references, rushed. Victory went to the imposing Jonathan Milan (Bahrain), an Italian pistard who wins gold with Ganna on the velodrome in pursuit, who is also from 2000, eight months younger than Evenepoel still. “I can't believe it, it's incredible. I'm very happy. It is my debut in the Giro, the second stage and I win it”, said the big man, who last year already fought with Vingegaard in the Tour of Croatia.
