“Oh, my god.” Was the cry of Mauro Gianetti, the UAE skipper, when he saw Tadej Pogacar, their leader, fall. Gianetti, a former Swiss cyclist, who was at the top of the pass, couldn't believe it and invoked God, because below, at the beginning of the pass, plans were going awry. He saw everything go to waste. The great favorite had a flat tire in the front, he was about to change bikes when the tire said enough and came off, skidded and sent him to the ground. Damn, they thought of his team. But nothing altered the Slovenian, who offered, without obviously wanting it or seeking it, a complete tribute to Marco Pantani in the Oropa Sanctuary. Iconic triumph in a place of pilgrimage for the pantanists.
Despite the fall, despite having to change his bike, despite being forced to overtake the entire peloton led by Ineos, despite the nerves of the moment, Pogacar overcame with the tranquility of someone who knows he is a chosen one, he won his first stage in the Giro d'Italia - he already has three in the Vuelta and 11 in the Tour - and he wore the pink jersey for the first time.
25 years later history repeated itself. Almost traced. In May 1999, the Italian climber had a problem with the chain when the ascent to Oropa had already begun. He had to stop. Later, enraged, he overtook cyclists 49 times to win the basilica with an impossible pace and set the time record for the climb.
This Sunday, a little earlier, in the town of Biella, where the bonus sprint banner was, 12 from the finish line, Pogacar raised his hand and began to lose positions. He had a puncture after hitting a pothole, a hole. And on a curve, while he was going slowly and waiting for the car, the fall came. Fright, a scratch and little else. The machinery was immediately put into motion. Grosschartner and Novak waited for him and returned him to the head of the platoon as quickly as possible.
Gianetti, who was a professional for 16 years, between 1987 and 2002, knew Pantani's story well. And he saw it revived when Pogacar attacked at the exit of the little town of Favaro, where Majka prepared the ground. Ben O'Connor and Geraint Thomas tried to follow him. Neither the Australian nor the Welshman could. With 4 km left, Pogacar was already alone.
He only passed the curve where the giant photo of Pantani was, where the tifosi were waiting for him with pirate flags and jerseys from Mercatone Uno, the team of the ill-fated idol. He alone, at the head of the race, towards victory, as it is clear that he will go many times in this Giro. Alone, with a 30-second advantage over the group of suffering hopefuls, among whom Narváez, who defeated him at the premiere in Turin, was no longer among them, nor was O'Connor. A warning to those who try to follow him: they may pay dearly. He only stood on the cobblestones to raise his arms in the Giro. “It was one of my dreams after winning stages in the Vuelta and the Tour,” he said of the completed trilogy.
And Gianetti, seeing him at his side, radiant, couldn't help but smile with relief. Pogacar, before going up to the podium to collect the pink jersey, as soon as he reached the finish line he began to do a roller on a time trial goat, to work a little on his position for the Perugia stage on Friday. The leader, with 45s of margin, is going for more.
