From Ravenna to Modena 140 km all flat that do not move the redesigned classification after the triumphant time trial of Primoz Roglic in San Marino, but leave deep marks and pains on the skin of the riders who ended up in the carom triggered in view of the sprint triggered by Ackermann, with a which makes him collide with Jacub Mareckzo. A dozen runners collapse on them, including Tony Gallopin, who already in Pesaro had violently protested against the organizers for the too many dangers inherent in each finish.
Achkermann, who was aiming for the trio of victories, arrives battered with a ripped cyclamen shirt and bloody half back. He must hope that the blow is absorbed to continue the Giro. He can't even cross the finish line Matteo Moschetti, one of the new Italian sprinters who is looking for a slice of glory in every sprint. He remains on the asphalt, even losing his senses for a few minutes. He was ranked last by the jury but in the evening, after a checkup in the hospital which revealed a subluxation in his shoulder, he announced his withdrawal from his first Giro.
All this turmoil has long since been overcome three km at the finish: the gaps are all neutralized but the fall causes a forced selection of the participants in the final rush. There is no longer Ackermann but there are Cale Ewan and Arnaud Démare to counter Elia Viviani's desire to win, who also remains dry in Modena. This time it's up to the Frenchman, who triumphed in Sanremo in 2017, splendidly piloted by his partner Jacopo Guarnieri, to inflict another disappointment on the Italian champion after those suffered by Ackermann in Fucecchio, by Ewan in Pesaro and by the jury in Orbetello when was downgraded and victory passed to Gaviria.
The great mountains, which the big names in sprints don't like, are getting closer but the Giro still offers Viviani a chance for redemption today with the Carpi-Novi Ligure, 221 km all flat as a billiard table. The pink race, after the lands of Bartali around Fucecchio, approaches those of Coppi, to celebrate the centenary of his birth and the 70th anniversary of the feat of the Campionissimo in the Cuneo-Pinerolo in the 1949 Giro. Unforgettable and unrepeatable cycling pages .
While waiting for the challenge between Nibali and Roglic to light up in the Alps, the Giro, which always sees Valerio Conti in the pink jersey, granted a little more glory to Sho Hatsuyama, the only Japanese remaining in the race, who replied on the Emilian roads the escape attempted towards Orbetello in the third stage. Both failed, but now Sho is a character in the Giro. His name means to fly, to rise. At almost 30 years old he is in his first Giro and candidly says he has never seen the Alps. Will he ever be able to overcome them to be the first Japanese to finish a Giro? This too is a good possible bet for the bookmakers of the Giro. g
