«On the first climb of the day Zana comes up to me and says: oh, I'm not struggling». Filippo Fiorelli he confides in this Giovanni Visconti behind the awards stage, where in the meantime Filippo Zana he closes his eyes towards the sky and enjoys Mameli's anthem, with Alberobello who sings in the background.
Filippo Fiorelli himself had caused a stir with his late attack. But how, one wondered, could he attack with a teammate in the breakaway? "I knew," the Sicilian clarified, "that the breakaway was already assured. They attacked, I responded, I saw that no one else had emerged, and I thought I'd achieved a good finish."
So no friction. Also because the hugs, the screams and the haunted glances filled with adrenaline were evidently sincere.
Bardiani Hat
This morning the Bardiani Csf Faizanè They were the largest team at the start, with 19 athletes (and 310 water bottles!). And they put this superiority to good use right away. They were active throughout the race. And at the right moment, when the "thoroughbreds" emerged with three laps to go, Zana was there.
«Everything went very well – says Zana incredulously – and to think that I suffer from the heatAnd that worried me a little. Plus, the route wasn't for me. But I saw right away that I was fine. I wasn't the team leader, but I knew that those who had done well in the Giro, like me, Gabburo, Zocarato, they could do good things."
«In the end I didn't think I would win, especially against people like Battistella e Route who are fast and who I could see were going fast. When they passed to shoot, the speed was always high. But I also shot."
«During the last kilometer I thought: “All things considered, I'm going to do well.” And yet I won in the sprint! In my entire career, I think I can count my sprint victories on one hand.
"Rota got off to a bit of a runaway start, but I stuck to his wheel and it went well. Let's just say I won the sprint that mattered."
Opposing tactics for the two largest teams. Bardiani always active, on the run, and more... Eolo-Kometa compact for Albanese. However, his men lost their way towards the end.
Opposing tactics for the two largest teams. Bardiani always active, on the run, and more... Eolo-Kometa compact for Albanese. However, his men lost their way towards the end.
Leg sprint
Visconti, happy for his former teammates who were getting doused in sparkling wine under the stage, comments with the eye of someone who knows a thing or two.
"Did I expect Filippo to win in the sprint? On paper," Visconti said, "he was the slowest, but this wasn't a sprint for sprinters, but for those with the most energy. Guys, do you realize what it means to run 240 kilometers in this heat? You didn't see that the selection was happening from behind?That even though there were climbers, none of them jumped and ran away?
Not only that, but at the beginning of the last lap, just to increase the suspense, Zana hadn't managed to get the water bottle. Luckily, there were two other masseurs on the roadside. Without water, an outcome like that could have been fatal.
Finally the shape
Zana is having a great season. Tour of Italy It didn't go exactly as he hoped. But he came out of it well. He won the Adriatic Ionian Race and we had written that it had been a bit the fourth week of the Giro. And then he won the Italian championship. In short, the form arrived: late, but it arrived.
"Yup, but we cannot say that this is the fifth week of the Giro – Zana jokes – after the Ionica Race I rested for a couple of weeks. I went to the Asiago plateau; I'm lucky enough to have a house up there in the mountains not far from my house. At least I slept in a cool place and I feel like all this did me good.
"I've had some easy days and some slightly tougher ones, but nothing major. Now, though, I want to rest properly. Today marks the end of my first half of the season."
Message to Bennati?
His first half of the season is over on a high, but he's already looking ahead. This jersey, as Zana himself said on stage, deserves to be honored in the best possible way.
And curiously, he won on a course that was theoretically not for climbers like him, and especially in the heat. A course also designed by the city manager. Daniele bennati, today on the motorbike, who wanted it as similar as possible to the world champion's one WollongongCould Zana cause problems for the coach ahead of the World Cup in Australia?
"It's too early to say now," Zana said. "It's still a long way from now until the World Championships. I want to recover well, because my legs were burning on the climbs, After the Giro I never gave up and this jersey must be honoured to the fullest."
