But how much he wanted it Andrea Vendrame this victory? The rider of theAg2R-Citroen he had left us before the Line of Business with a "I want a stop, you choose which one." Well he had set his sights on the Siena-Bagno di Romagna. He understood that this could be the right opportunity. And last night he analyzed it with his staff until 23 pm. From that meeting emerged "perfect tactical motivations," as he puts it. I studied it from dot zero to dot 200 kilometers."
Like devils
This morning, the breakaway just wouldn't go. This added difficulty for anyone who wanted to attack, like the Venetian rider.
«It's increasingly difficult to escape – explains Vendrame – in the last two or three years when you succeed it seems like you've won a stage. Last night, my mental coach, who happens to be Tuscan from the area where we were starting, and I had studied that situation carefully, and as luck would have it, the best breakaway went off towards Florence. There were restrictions and the leading teams wanted to protect the GC men, So after that point we managed to escape. A bit of luck always helps. For 90 kilometers we went like hell."
Andrea the revolutionary
Once upon a time, this would have been rare, but today there are many Italian riders who race for foreign teams.
«I am a revolutionary "Do you know why?" Vendrame says. "Because an Italian who goes racing in France has to be one. Italians and Frenchmen have often been enemies in football, cycling, and sports in general. And the French have a slightly strange way of racing, very attacking. And somehow that's fine with me. Look at today: I'm fast, but I didn't wait for the sprint."
This aspect struck us, in fact. And when we pointed it out to him, Andrea was very technical in his explanation. "I attacked at the hardest point of the last climb because that's what I had planned. I was afraid of that section. I knew that if I could get ahead of the climbers, my chances would increase."
In the end he showed incredible cunning and nastiness. He had been looking for this victory for a long time.
"It's true that I was mean and could have waited for the sprint, but I remembered when in 2019 in San Martino di Castrozza I missed out on victory due to a chain slip. No, not this time: I have to go and look for victory, I don't have to wait for it."
Rui, Faresin, Savio
After the finish, Vendrame gathers himself. He cries. These are unique moments in a rider's career. He hugs his masseur and waits for his teammate. Bouchard on the run with him today. But despite this success, Andrea hasn't forgotten the past.
"Today I realized a dream I had as a child. I want to thank Ciano Rui e Gianni Faresin that the Ointment They helped me grow and become a rider and above all they took me back when I was about to stop. With John Savio then I spent three beautiful years atAndroni Giocattoli, the first three as a professional."
And as he crossed the finish line, do you know what Gianni Savio told us? «Vendrame: I'm really happy that this boy won».
Bouchard, a brother
Vendrame waited for him at the finish line. Bouchard, in the blue jersey, was the one who welcomed him best of all on the team. They're now true friends, even outside of racing.
"Now another Giro begins for us," Vendrame says. "The team is more relaxed, and maybe we can win again. Plus, we have Bouchard's jersey to defend. "Goffredo," to his friends, is now like a brother. We're always in the room together. When I started on the radio, he told me a lot of things, he encouraged me. That's also why it was nice to go on the breakaway together."
