Attached to his black bicycle, his back flat, parallel to the ground, a surfboard beside the Adriatic Sea, ready to ride waves, crowned with an astronaut's helmet, Remco Evenepoel is a man with a bullet, an arrow, a javelin, a projectile launched from a cannon from Fossacesia in the direction of Ortona. On the bike lane, the Belgian pierces the wind, sticks in the air and advances, devouring meters with each pedal stroke. Powerful and majestic, Evenepoel borders on perfection in a sublime time trial. So round that it is even better than what was expected of him. And he wreaks havoc around him.
His gaze is always ahead, until after 15 km and with 4 km to go, he sees a figure ahead, getting closer. It is the Dutchman Hoole, from the Trek, who left a minute earlier, and whom he hunts down and leaves behind without paying any more attention. A collateral victim. Evenepoel doesn't think about that. Think about those who come after him –Roglic, Ganna and Vlasov have left after him– and what lies ahead: 20 stages to Rome. And he knows that he cannot stop, that every second is gold, because every second will weigh heavily on the pockets of his rivals in this Giro and above all that it will lead to the morale of those who are going to compete with him.
Thus, he climbs, without letting go of the triathlete control, without losing an iota of aerodynamics the last 2.5 km of Ortona, which sting upwards, and enters the finish line fast and dizzying, where he will pulverize the time set by João Almeida (UAE), which he lowers in 29 seconds. Even in slow-motion footage, it looks like he's going fast. He has covered the first 20 kilometers of the Giro at more than 55 km / h. Not even Ganna, the giant from Verbania, the local idol, pure specialist, has been able to come close to the impeccable work of the Belgian prodigy. And the prize cannot be other than putting on the first pink jersey. Just like Mathieu van der Poel did last year.
But that is staring at the pointing finger and not at the shining moon. Because stage victory is a battle and the Soudal leader has come to win the war. And perhaps he has taken the first step towards victory because he has dealt a blow to his opponents, who already at the beginning find themselves with considerable damage. Everyone takes their own. And, scared and powerless, they touch their bodies trying to take stock of the damage.
Without counting Almeida, the destruction ranges from the 40 seconds left by Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos) to the 2m02s lost by the Colombian from Bahrain, Santiago Buitrago. And in the middle of the defeated appears Primoz Roglic (Jumbo), who puts on a good face and winks despite the fact that 43 seconds have fallen. "I am optimistic. There are many stages left, huh?” recalls the Slovenian.
"I'm super happy," says the winner, who wants to combine pink with the red jersey of the Vuelta that he won last year in Madrid. “I have not concentrated on getting the difference from Roglic, but on going as fast as possible. And I think that has been enough”, admits Evenepoel superhappy.
Looking at the display, someone remembers that the previous time Napoli won the Scudetto – you get there on Thursday – before being proclaimed league champion this week was in 1990. And that year was the last year in which a cyclist won the Giro as leader from beginning to end. Bugno brought the rose from Bari to Milan, from foot to foot. “I wanted this jersey but after the fourth stage – the first high finish – we will have to see who we give it to”, says Evenepoel, who is not up for the task. This has just started.
