The look that can be seen behind the glasses is concentrated. Vincenzo takes a deep breath and scans his fellow escapees, waiting for the right signal.The pace is high, the road climbs, the heartbeat increases and small drops of sweat form on the skin.
«I don't know this part of the climb – he thinks – but it's hard, it's ideal for a long-range attack».
The pace slows, Nibali's eyes light up... the moment has come!
He doesn't hesitate, he doesn't turn around, he just snaps, like a shark when it sees its prey from afarHe begins to gain ground, meters, seconds. Bardet tries to chase him, with Valverde, Covi, Fortunato, and De la Cruz behind him, but in vain. When the road climbs and the adrenaline coursing through your body, you feel no fatigue. There are 22 kilometers left to the finish line.
"Go Enzo!" he hears on the roadside, he recognizes the voice: it's his cousin'sHe feels at home, protected, and thus becomes unstoppable. He pushes the pedals harder and harder, more decisively, more agile.
From the flagship they warn him of his advantage, Vincenzo begins to believe in it more and Like a painter who paints with soft but decisive lines, the Sicilian faces the descent that he knows very wellThe streets of Mascali are precisely the ones where he trained as a boy.
He takes the water bottle with a gel attached to it, but it's not necessary, the majesty of Etna gives him great energy; an unstoppable explosion that gives us a sublime image. He turns back slightly… and it's a moment, think about these last two years, the many falls, the sacrifices and the criticisms which he now leaves along the road behind him.
"These haven't been two easy years. Many unexpected events have affected what I expected to be able to do. The pandemic, the fracture, a few too many physical problems I wasn't used to. I almost always found myself chasing the best conditionMorally, it wasn't an easy situation to deal with. I've never lacked desire, commitment, or seriousness. At times I lacked serenity».
With only a few kilometers to go, he is launched towards what is not a simple finish line: it is his prey, his redemption, his happiness. It's not an arrival, it's a new beginning!
Thus, spurred on by the enthusiasm of the crowd, of his people, he faces the last kilometer in one breath. He reaches the finish line, raises his arms to the sky after two long years and, for a moment, he feels like a child again. Besides, he had never won as a professional in Sicily.
«This victory means a lot, in a unique context, perhaps the best».
Inevitably he gets carried away by emotions, he criesThe fans are chanting his name, but the Shark is as if he's in a bubble, feeling nothing but his heart in his throat and tears streaming down his face.
«Many of those who know me well They told me it had been a long time since they had seen me so moved. And it's true.I won on my home roads, the ones where I grew up. And I did it in front of my people, my lifelong friends."
«Ohh!» a scream breaks the bubble, brother Antonio he tugs at him, Vincenzo turns around, smiles, hugs himadding to this picture the last colors: red and yellow, those of the jersey that a little later will light up the face of Vincenzo Nibali on the podium ahead of Valverde and Covi.
A thought for Luca Guercilena. Then the last stage and the Tour of Sicily they are his!
