Surprises could have been expected from the Montecassino stage, with the final ascent of the famous abbey, but what happened, beautiful and dramatic, in the sixth stage of the Giro was hardly imaginable. The beauty was offered by two Australians, Michael Mattwes and Cadel Evans. The pink jersey is the man you don't expect to dart first to the rock, right up there where everyone predicted the end of his leadership. So happy right after the finish line that you can't believe it.
If Matthews is the portrait of joy. Evans hadn't been seen so on the ball and fiercely determined for two years: at the age of 37, after two seasons, one more disappointing than the other, there were few who still believed him. Instead here he is, furious like a maniac pressing on the pedals, catching everyone off guard even before the road becomes steep, also taking advantage of a ruinous crash by half the group in which Rodriguez was also involved. With the help of Os and Morabito, Evans makes the void in which Uran and Quintana are swallowed up, who on arrival will suffer a delay of 49″ which becomes 55″ because Evans, finishing second behind the surprising Matthews, also pockets six seconds of time bonus .
The stage, which relaunches Evans to the top of the Giro favourites, was a sort of massacre with about forty cyclists catapulted one on top of the other at the entrance to a roundabout 11 km from the finish, due to the rain and the slimy asphalt. Dramatic results for Vicioso, lifeless on the asphalt with a fractured femur. Moments of fear for Caruso too, also from the Katusha, violently thrown to the ground on the side of the road: the Italian rider, unfortunate protagonist at the last Liège, remained motionless for an eternity of moments, unconscious.
For him, the Giro finished as for his captain, Joaquim Rodriguez, who ended up in the general carom from which he came out battered and with a broken finger. Purito got back on his bike, but the best group was now far away. Anger, suffering, disappointment: Rodriguez courageously finished the stage with a gap of almost eight minutes. Soon after, the Katusha announced its withdrawal. So sadly one of the most eagerly awaited protagonists leaves the Giro, who shared the primacy of predictions on the eve with Quintana.
