Great Nibali, a Carapaz rock, new cracks in Roglic's engine, a day to remember for Ciccone. They are the protagonists, three positive, one negative, of a stage of extraordinary appeal. The Mortirolo lives up to expectations and offers not only great emotions but also important check-ups on the hairpin bends, which soar towards the sky. The mountain. who created the myth of Pantani, has not yet chosen the master of the Giro but was on the verge of sending a big fish like Roglic into a tailspin, electrocuted by Nibali's superb sprint in the middle of the climb and unable to mend a gap that was set at 1'22 by the trio of Nibali, Carapaz and Landa.
The stage in Como, with the bike accident and the subsequent crash on the Civiglio descent, must have left after-effects on his body and mind, robbing him of his self-confidence and bravado. The Slovenian now in the standings has slipped to third place, overtaken by Nibali for 22" and more than minutes behind Carapaz, who was also perfect yesterday in defending his pink jersey. In favor of the Ecuadorian there is a solid and well-managed team like Movistar, with Landa leaving no one out on the climbs.
Team that doesn't have Roglic, always only in the topical moments of the stage. Like the one which, 34 km from the finish, when the slopes of the Mortirolo were by now asphyxiating, saw Nibali take off, an imperious sprint, amidst the enthusiasm of the crowd, which ignited the tussle by breaking up the group of the best who had been up to there climbing side by side.
Nibali's was a dry shot that made a vacuum: a show within a show, with Nibali receiving – almost a reverent homage to the only authentic champion present in this Giro – a bottle from Ventoso, a Ccc rider, which was part of the breakaway of about twenty riders that was crumbling on the ramps of Mortirolo. Antonio Nibali was also in this breakaway who for some stretch, until he made it, pedaled alongside his famous more famous brother, a familiar postcard right in the moments in which the Shark was trying to break the bank .
Nibali's action put Roglic on the ropes but not Carapaz who helped by Landa managed to hook it back up before diving together into the descent made dangerous by an increasingly thick rain. Behind, kilometer after kilometre, Roglic was losing ground who, left without teammates, found some help only from the other ranking men lingered in the ascent of the Mortirolo, such as Yates, Mollema, Zakarin. In the final km on the slight slope that leads to Ponte di Legno, Nibali, Carapaz and Landa (plus Dombroski and Carty) pulled hard to extend the advantage over Roglic but could not enter the stage bonus game because Ciccone and Hirt were ahead , pursued by Masnada, a trio of survivors of the flight that began just before the Presolana.
For Ciccone, the most awaited and feared stage of the Giro turned into a memorable day to be framed: it is he who, ennobling and decisively strengthening his blue jersey as leader of the climbers, passed first not only on the Mortirolo - collecting 40 points - but also on the first two passes, the Presolana and Cevo. Even in the previous stages, Ciccone's name was present in the breakaways as soon as a Gpm, small or large, was involved.
He collected points and then didn't care about how the stage ended: yesterday instead he didn't give up for a moment, pedaling brilliantly in the icy cold that descended on the Mortirolo, diving with Hirt on the descent. He finally wanted to do the feat and he did it by beating a fellow breakaway who was not at all resigned to the place of honor in the sprint. It is his second success at the Giro after that of Sestola in 2016. Masnada arrives third at 1'20”.
Nibali finished fourth at 1'41” regulating Carty, Carapaz and Landa. Lopez, in crisis from hunger, finished at 2'03” confirming that this year too the Giro remains a chimera for him and it is little consolation to have snatched the white jersey of best under 25 from Sivakov. Roglic with Mollema and Yates he reached 3'03”.
The Giro that was pink for him turned gray in two days. He has the advantage of the final time trial in Verona but Mortirolo rejected him. Bad sign, if there had been the Gavia probably could have gone worse. Now the Slovenian is 2'09” behind Carapaz, the pink jersey from Ecuador that nobody, not even Nibali, could have imagined would become so dangerous. List Table 3
