Yates crosses the line and doesn't stop. The masseur continues to run beside him, but The Englishman continues to pedal slowly towards what remains of a seemingly endless climb.. Not being able to run alongside him like we used to, we imagine his heartbeat slowing, his breathing normalizingHe does neck exercises and continues pedaling. Slowly, as if in slow motion. It's clear that he wants to be left alone, because of this and because he's out of breath, even the man in the... Team Bike Exchange She stops running and catches up with him when he stops. They exchange a glance. Simon arches his back backwards, like when you take off a heavy backpack.Then he shakes his head, half-smiles, and goes back to where the rest of the masseurs are waiting for their companions. He drops his bike. And finally, after a day of being slapped and given, he sits on the floor.
One fine day
He attacked with 3,3 kilometers to go, where the road is in the woods and the slope is as steep as a fist under the sternumIf you go and look again the photo published on bici.PRO in the aftermath of Tour of the Alps, you'll see that it was taken right in that climbing sector. Bernal responded to the first blow and also to the second, but while Yates in front was pedaling composedly, It was immediately clear that the pink jersey had its mouth open like on the ZoncolanBut this time there was more ground to cover. The moment when Bernal breaks away and watches him go is the one the greatest journalists would build the story of the day around. But Yates, in that moment, isn't thinking about the story, only about pushing and slapping. He took too many slaps in this Giro, which he came to win, even just to let your imagination run wild. And do you think that on such a tough climb, perhaps the toughest of the Giro, there was time for imagination?
Better with the sun
«We missed the escape – he says – and I wanted to try to win the stage todayWhen the front set off, there were only 60 kilometers to go before San Valentino, the first climb, so chasing wasn't a huge job. The guys did a great job and I tried to do my part.It was a really crazy day. But I had good legs and the sun was shining and I had a good feeling all day that I could do this thing."
The hardest
He's wearing a helmet with his goggles upside down. There's still a patch on his nose to help him breathe, and a blue terrycloth towel around his neck will keep him from getting cold on the descent, because the buses were parked down below and the riders had to retrace the climb in reverse to get back thereAnd who knows, perhaps in doing so, they realized they had left behind the most challenging finish of the Giro.
«We had been there to do a reconnaissance – he says – that's why the team has been shooting since Valentine's Day. We knew it would be a very tough climb, for me the toughest of the race.I knew I had room to try, so I tried to make a difference and set a good time. I wonder if I can do better, more than a minute behind Caruso, who remains second… If I have legs I'll try again, but now I don't think I have much else to say."
Turn the bike around, riders continue to arrive one by oneHe heads towards the descent, after a day better for him than Zoncolan, in which the attack had been pushed back into his throat. For the first time in this Giro, he saw Bernal in difficulty, as for the first time in Prato Nevoso, Froome began to undermine his confidence in 2018. The Giro still has two mountain stages and a time trial ahead of it.After what we saw at Sega di Ala, it's hard to say that the time for slaps is over.
