The long-awaited stage of Lago Laceno with the dreaded climb to the Molella pass less than 5 kilometers from the finish, practically did not shake the general classification but gave some indications that could be important for the continuation of the Giro: first of all it confirmed That the winner, Domenico Pozzovivo, Lucan, born in 1982, doctor cyclist having a degree in business economics, is perhaps today one of the strongest climbers not only in Italy and that his victory in the last Giro del Trentino was not the exploit of a day lucky. It's true that in 1998 at the same finish line in Lago Laceno, in the heart of Irpinia, the Swiss (and not only them), seeing Alex Zulle remount and detach Marco Pantani, thought they had discovered the new Hugo Koblet. Illusion soon fell under the portentous shots of the Pirate who destroyed Zulle on Monte Campione and in the Dolomites, who was an excellent athlete but never a complete champion.
The Pirate was the Pirate but, even with all the necessary precautions and checks, Pozzovivo deserves more attention after today than the Giro has given him so far. His sprint in the most difficult section of the final ascent was peremptory. The big names in the Giro didn't react and let themselves be detached, almost happy not to battle. A lack of reaction that only fuels the Hamlet-like doubt that has accompanied this Giro from the beginning: yes, there is a range of favourites, the so-called big names, absolutely excellent cyclists because you don't win two Giros like Basso if you don't have quality and legs good, but the Contador-like champion is missing, capable of imposing his own law on every occasion and on any terrain. We are reminded of what the Spaniard was capable of surprisingly inventing in the Tropea stage last year.
Among the favorites at the start, the climb to Lago Laceno rewarded Joaquin Rodriguez with the bonus of 8” who finished third at 27” regulating the small group of the best in the sprint. Which also included Damiano Cunego, after having suffered so much uphill that he lost the wheels of Basso and his companions. Pink jersey always on Canadian Tyler Esjedal's shoulders who had no major problems defending her. At the start of the second week of racing, having reached its southernmost point for this year, the Giro still sees a whopping 13 riders gathered in under a minute. Thanks to the bonus Rodriguez is second tonight at 9”. Kreuziger is fourth at 35”. Basso is sixth at 40”; ninth Schleck at 48”; Scarponi is twelfth at 54”; Pozzovivo follows at 55”. The American Vandevelde lost ground while the Spanish Intxausti Elorriaga jumped up to fifth place in the general classification, on an equal footing with Kreuziger, who came second today, 23” behind Pozzovivo. A ranking that becomes more and more an authentic puzzle every day, even for the odds of the bookmakers in search of the possible winner of a Giro whose owner is not yet visible.
