FORTE DEI MARMI (LU) – At the end the best news comes right at the end of the day when from the door of the hotel Red Bull-Bora Giulio Pellizzari himself appears. He looks out onto the steps and signs autographs for two kids who'd arrived just for him. "Nice to see you here. They told us you were in bed," we say. He smiles: "That's better."
Meanwhile Giovanni Aleotti Tell us a little about how this particular day of rest went. IERI (Yesterday) Jay Hindley and above all Pellizzari had to defend themselves, even before their opponents, from their stomach problems.
An evening of optimism
Today the Red Bulls had a bit of a day of their own. "We went out in small groups," Aleotti explains, "also because there's traffic here in Versilia, and especially with a time trial bike, it's better to go alone. The team gave us a range of times for breakfast, training, and everything else. Then we adjusted our schedule ourselves.».
These stomach ailments are spreading throughout the group, we've been told, and they haven't just affected Red Bull. Sure, they struck them yesterday on a less than ideal stage... if you're aiming for the overall standings. But there's little you can do about fate.
Apparently the first to feel bad was Gianni mosconHe and Pellizzari didn't ride today. They took full advantage of the rest day. The imperative was to recover.
The two of them didn't eat in kitchen truck, but in his room. Pellizzari remained in his room for a long time. However, the fact that we saw him standing is a very good sign. The 1'28" loss at Corno alle Scale doesn't matter. What really matters is not feeling bad for the rest of the Giro.
We'll have to see how deeply this illness has taken hold, what after-effects it will leave, and whether this unusual rest day will prove to be a costly one. Switching straight to the time trial bike after so many hours in bed isn't the best idea. But these are just conjectures. The road will tell us everything about Pellizzari in a few hours.
Aleotti tells
Aleotti is one of the climbers who will have to stay close to Pellizzari and Hindley. And yesterday, even in difficult times, he didn't fail to lend his support to the captain. And to his friend... Aleotti insisted a lot on this aspect of friendship, of the group that performed well.
«Yesterday – says Aleotti – Giulio had a stomachache during the stage. We found out about it around the halfway point. At that point, I told the team I'd be there for him, if only because we speak the same language and it only takes a little, or even a simple gesture, to understand each other. He asked me for a cape, and I brought it to him.
«When I saw him at the tail end in the last 3-4 kilometers I didn't really think anything, except that Pellizzari is very strong and that he wouldn't give up an inch.He prepared very well and arrived here in great condition. That's how it went, but for me, even yesterday, despite everything, he didn't go slowly."
We were talking about optimism. Aleotti counters that, all things considered, given the misfortune, it's a good thing this illness came on a rest day. In short, it could have been worse.
"I saw Giulio this morning," Aleotti continues. "I said hello, we talked, and he was a little more lively than last night. Giulio always has a lot of energy. He's optimistic. Then, as he and I always say, no one ever died of rest! So, in quotation marks, it's a good thing this problem happened today. Now let's hope he can recover as best he can."
For Jai and Giulio
Aleotti has truly matured. Very polite as always, he tells us that he has prepared well for this. Tour of Italy, like the rest of the team. But above all, he explains how he has a very clear role here, one that, it seems, he truly feels is his.
«I had a good approach, a good Tour of the Alps Come on, both Giulio and Jai know they can count on me. They know I'm there when they need me. If the team gives me some playing time, I'll be happy, but they come first. Aleksandr Vlasov and I will be close to both of them until the uphill finish. Jai and I have known each other for a long time and have developed a great relationship even off the bike. And the same goes for Giulio: we've gotten to know each other well and we've developed a great connection at home too."
"This first week," Aleotti continues, "has been a bit unusual. There weren't any major climbs up to Blockhaus. Yesterday, too, the final three kilometers were really uphill. Tomorrow's time trial will be a delicate stage for everyone, not just for us, and then a transitional week will come».
More than ever Pellizzari will have to defend himself tomorrow against time, against jonas vingegaard and against the increasingly dangerous Felix Gall.
Towards the time trial
Meanwhile, the shadows are lengthening over Versilia. Tomorrow's weather looks good, with little wind. This morning, there was a good flow of riders along the seafront between Viareggio and Massa. Some were cruising along at 25 miles an hour on their road bikes, while others were more focused on their time trial bikes. But overall it really seemed like a less stressful day… And that doesn't happen often on a rest day.
A few steps from the Red Bull hotel there is the Ineos Grenadiers. And there we found Filippo Gana who made the rollers. The Piedmontese time trialist was shirtless and sweating.
"He chose to do the rollers in the afternoon to extend his total recovery window," Elia Viviani explains. "This morning he woke up late and didn't go out. This way, he recovered for almost 24 hours. Now he just needed to do a little activation and stay in position for a bit. He did 40 minutes of rollers." As a Marco Pinotti told us, pure time trialists have no need to use the time trial bike in their spare timeThey address this medium informally.
Other rumours concern Vingegaard's double lenticular and Felix Gall's super-evolved Deda handlebar.
But in the end, the best news comes from this very hall. Pellizzari, who had been in bed practically all day, wait for Gianni Moscon, the one who from what we understand was the worst off of all. The two went for a short walk. Let's hope the storm has passed.
