At its feet there is an arch that announced the door to hell but the Zoncolan, with its dizzying slopes, was an appeals judge who limited himself to confirming the sentence issued by the time trial at Cima Grappa, leaving unchanged the classification for the primacy and the podium.
The dreaded hell has become, as expected, paradise for Quintana who has overcome the last obstacle without any difficulty before his final triumph today in Trieste. Not only that, the Zoncolan offered a large number of non-ranking riders the chance of a lifetime: to win at the top of a recently discovered but already legendary Giro finish. To take advantage of it was Michael Rogers, the Australian who was already first in Savona, who in the last two thousand meters of the ascent broke away from everyone also thanks to a spectator, an authentic idiot in a rainbow jersey, who pushed Francesco Manuel Bongiorno, who was close to Rogers, forcing him to step ashore. Starting again on 22% gradients is terrible and the unfortunate Bardiani cyclist finished third even overtaken by Pellizzotti. And the big names? They were seven minutes behind at the start of the climb, 11 interminable km that end up in the amazing natural amphitheater of the Zoncolan, packed with crowds yesterday.
Quintana never lost control of the race, absolute master of the Giro, he was escorted halfway up the slope by the trusty Igor Anton who knows these ramps well who gave him the best victory of his career in the 2011 Giro. The others, even Aru, they looked like someone struggling to defend themselves more than someone willing to attack. Uran alone gave the impression of having regained confidence with the hardest ramps. And, at the same point where Rogers had gone off alone, also to avoid nasty surprises in the last km that could have cost him second place in the standings, Uran decided to sprint strong also with the support of two companions, Poels and right after Serry, who was part of the initial escape.
Quintana, with his impenetrable Indian face, didn't get upset, knowing full well that on the walls of the Zoncolan more than the followers count their legs. Even Uran had to resign himself to the supremacy of his rival-companion, satisfied with the same placement as last year, second behind Nibali. It was Aru, Rolland and Maika who gave up a handful of seconds to the two Colombians who arrive paired at the finish line, 4 minutes and 46 seconds behind Rogers. Colombia, which had never won a Giro d'Italia, scores a historic double while Aru, if he hasn't managed to overtake Uran, confirms his third place, on the podium 4'04” behind Quintana, the seal of an extraordinary Giro. Behind the Sardinian follow in the standings Rolland at 5'46, Pozzovivo at 6'41 and Maika at 7'13.
The Dutch Kelderman and Cadel Evans close the top ten with gaps of more than ten minutes, the Australian who is probably on his last grand tour. Today the pink race will end in Trieste which is preparing to play “Oh gloria immarcesible!”, the Colombian anthem in honor of Quintana, pink jersey and also white jersey for best young rider. Alongside him on the podium will be Uran and Aru. And it is once again a Colombian, Julian Arredondo, who wins the blue jersey of the best climber without waiting for the assignment of the last points up for grabs that the Giro has placed on the Passo di Monte Croce, a fourth-category Gpm, about fifty km from departure from Gemona. As for the points classification, the red jersey is firmly on the shoulders of Nacer Bouhanni, the strongest sprinter in the Giro after the abandonment of Marcel Kittel. And the Frenchman, having overcome the great mountains unscathed avoiding the out of time, dreams of making the four of victories in the city of San Giusto. The super favorite for the final sprint is still him.
