They called Ceresole Reale because up here among the peaks of Gran Paradiso, between Piedmont and Val d'Aosta, King Vittorio Emanuele II came to hunt chamois. Yesterday on the hairpin bends leading to the 2247 meters of Lake Serrù, above the alpine village, the Giro finally experienced a day of great cycling, with Ilnur Zakarin as the protagonist, who at the top of the Savoy hunting reserve found his eagle's wings with a determination and strength that he seemed to have lost since the day of the fearful flight down the Colle dell'Agnello in the 2016 Giro. Ceresole, instead of the king, has found a tsar who in this Giro wants to play a leading role after a start in chiaroscuro. With yesterday's triumph – more than deserved having entered the breakaway of the day that formed immediately after the departure from Pinerolo – Zakarin climbs up to third place in the general classification at 2'25” from the pink jersey always on the shoulders of Jan Polanc, ad just 31” from Roglic, overtaking Nibali by 1'13”. In the report card of the stage, the Russian from Kausha certainly deserves a 10 with honors.
A vote close to that of Zakarin also deserves Mikel Landa, who in the hardest part of the final ascent, left the company of Roglic and Nibali in the lurch: it was the beginning of a personal show, a climber like few others out there , never broken down even on two-digit slopes. An action that progressively allowed the leader of the Movistar – whose points of reference were Amador and Carretero sent ahead in the morning escape – to reach and overtake almost all the fugitives – including Mollema and Carapaz – placing himself third at 1 '20” from Zakarin. Also for Landa, who had already started the recovery operation the day before yesterday in Cuneo-Pinerolo, a big leap forward in the standings. He is now eighth at 2'12” from Roglic and 59” from Nibali.
The Giro, which seemed to be enclosed in a two-way challenge, facing the first real mountain, reshuffled the cards by bringing the Dutchman Bauke Mollema into play, as well as the Russian and the Basque, fourth in the general, who gave up in the final he still gained more than a minute on Roglic and Nibali. Looking at the order of arrival, one understands the extent of how the Giro exploded on the slopes that climb up to Ceresole. Practically it was a "flickering" of riders scattered on the hard hairpin bends, each alone with himself and his remaining strength, as if the stage had been transformed into an endless uphill time trial. An unforgettable spectacle in the severe setting of the Cottian Alps: the only couple who proceeded pedaling on equal footing, with one taking care of the other, were they, the two recognized masters of the Giro up to now: Nibali and Roglic. The Shark tried but the former ski jumper was already there at his side after a hundred meters, then it was the Slovenian who staged a sort of Froome smoothie and the Italian was ready to grab it again in no time say. Together, side by side, right up to the finish line, as uninterested in what the others were up to. In the end an absolutely equal match with the two big names crossing the finish line, Roglic seventh and Nibali eighth, with the same time at 2'57” from Zakarin.
The day of the relaunch of Zakarin and Landa and the armed truce between Roglic and Nibali marked the definitive surrender of Simon Yates. The Briton immediately lost the wheels of the best, arriving at the finish line 5 minutes late from Zakarin, also preceded by Jan Polanc – 15th at 4'39” – still in the pink jersey even if with an almost halved advantage over Roglic. An abyss has opened up in his classification, 17th at 8'14” from the Slovenian pink jersey, with a gap that has risen to almost 6 minutes compared to Roglic. For the British rider, who had come to the Giro with the intention of completing the work done last year when he lost it after dominating it in the first two weeks, the Ceresole stage was a terrible blow to morale. Mikel Nieve, who had joined the breakaway of Zakarin and his companions to be a useful point of support in view of an attack by his captain, waited for him for a long time and in vain.
In the end, when Mitchelson-Scott's plan failed, he consoled himself by trying to win the stage. He didn't make it but he finished second 35” from Zakarin. Another loser – but mostly by bad luck – was Miguel Angel Lopez, who was among the big favorites to win at the top of Lago Serrù. The Colombian midway up the climb, when he was together with Nibali and Roglic, had an unfortunate chain jump. Once he set foot on the ground he had to wait quite a while for the change of bicycle. He recovered well determined in the chase which he seemed to succeed but in the decisive moment he lacked strength finishing 11th at 4'19” from Zakarin and losing another 1'22' from Roglic and Nibali. His ranking is complicated again: tenth at 7'48” from Polanc. But there are many mountains still to climb. Already today there is a short stage but full of climbs with the dreaded San Carlo before the dive on Courmayeur. Lopez, although disappointed at yesterday's arrival, promises new battles. Not so Simon Yates who practically "resigned" from the Giro on the same day that his premier, Teresa May, she resigned by the guidance of the British government.
