Today the Giro from Orbetello will arrive in Frascati, the town on the Roman hills famous for its wine which in 1955 hosted the world championships which awarded the rainbow jersey to the Belgian Stan Ockers, a great from that golden age of cycling which he tasted on that day at the end of August his best victory surprising the two super favourites; Coppi and Bobet. It was also the Belgian's last triumph before he died, hitting his skull on the Antwerp track the following year. 235 km long, to make today's stage a little bit, without real difficulties up to the gates of Frascati, there are the last 2500 meters with gradients of around 5% and peaks of up to 7%.
Two and a half km making it unlikely Elia Viviani manages to erase the insult suffered yesterday at the finish line in Orbetello amidst the gusts of wind that swept the Maremma. The Italian, point man for the Deuceninck-Quick Step stage victories, had dominated a sprint by sprinting in the last 75 meters with the authority and power that for a year, after his farewell to Sky where he was a misunderstood , led him to be one of the strongest sprinters around today, so much so that his Belgian team preferred him to a big name like Fernando Gaviria. And yesterday it was the Colombian who moved to UAE Team Emirates to be forced into the final meters of the race. But in the final tussle, when the adrenaline is at its peak, Viviani swerving to the left had touched Matteo Moschetti's pedal.
Normal contact in the elbow-to-elbow challenge looking for the best trajectories or an impropriety to be punished? The jury of the Giro, seeing how Var does in football, he had no doubts and he took away the victory from Viviani – would have been the fifth in the Giro after the four of the last edition – assigning it to Gaviria with Dèmare and Ackerman completing the podium of the day. More disappointment and bitterness than anger for Viviani, more embarrassment than joy for Gaviria, already winner of four stages at the 2017 Giro, who with great sportsmanship recognized Viviani's punishment as exaggerated, considering him the right winner of the stage.
A stage that in fact lived entirely in the final sprint with the yellow flap that revolutionized the finish order. For the rest, hours and hours in the wind pedaling all in groups, with the fear of falling due to the force of the gusts. They especially paid the price Pozzovivo, Carapaz and Hart – the young captain of Ineos (formerly Sky) after Bernal's forfeit – the first two reached the finish line 46” late and the British with almost a minute and a half. A difficult day for the TV commentators with the group marching together without any noteworthy initiatives. Very soporific hours and hours where everything except the Giro was discussed, from the withdrawal of Moreno Moser who interrupted the Trentino dynasty that began with Aldo in the 50s to the probable one of Marcel Kittel, long off the scene – the fault, it is said, of the beer – after being one of the strongest sprinters in the world until Peter Sagan's return to success in the first stage of the California Tour.
On a day like this he was able to have his moment of glory and popularity too Shō Hatsuyama, the last Japanese left in the running after his compatriot's expulsion Hiroki Nishimura arrived out of time in the time trial of San Luca. He will be remembered as the first Japanese to go on a solo breakaway in the history of the Giro. Once absorbed Sho, all the bigs, from Roglic – on its third day in pink – a Nibali, from Yachts a From the mill, they only tried not to suffer damage in a stage that will go down in the pink annals only for the insult suffered by Viviani. nt 3;\lsdpri
