Giro: from today it's mountains with Uran super favorite

Perhaps only one will remember Fossano – Rivarolo Canavese for the rest of his life, the thirteenth stage of the Giro in which little or nothing happened, as was to be expected after the jolt to the standings given by the time trial of the wines that sent into orbit the star of Uran: that one is Marco Canola, a young cyclist from Bardiani. who took his first victory by beating his two breakaway companions, the Venezuelan Jackson Rodriguez and the Frenchman Tulik in the sprint, narrowly escaping the group that by now had them in their sights. A few more meters and Canola's dream would have been broken by the usual Bouhanni, who just 11 seconds later regulated the sprint of the group. The main sprinter of the Giro, increasingly in the red jersey of points classification leader, now has the last stage in Trieste to hit an extraordinary poker of victories. From today the Giro is alone and a lot of mountains: for Uran the ideal terrain to defend the pink jersey. After Barolo the bookmakers quote him 1,75 for the final victory. A threat to his leadership more than from Evans, who seems to have run out of energy, could come from his compatriot Quintana, who is the strongest grimpeur around but who, also due to a respiratory infection, accuses a delay in the standings of three and a half minutes.

The all-Colombian duel could already be staged today on the ramps leading to the Sanctuary of Oropa. A climb that recalls one of Marco Pantani's most extraordinary feats. That day of the 1999 Giro, the Pirate in the pink jersey had to stop right at the foot of the climb for a chain jump. His opponents double their strength to detach the master of the Giro. Seconds feel like minutes. Pantani, when he starts again, is in the rear of the race. Implacable in the run-up, the Pirate climbs up, catching everyone one after the other. He reaches and jumps and also ditches Jalabert who was leading the race. He wins by detachment among the raptures of the crowd. An incredible comeback, so much so that Jalabert said that day: "when Pantani shoots, the only thing you can do is turn away so as not to see him". In Paradise at the sanctuary of Oropa, the Pirate a few days later will end up in the hell of Madonna di Campiglio.