«When you start from the front – says Malucelli – you have to be strong enough to take them all off their wheels. Otherwise you become a point of support and if someone points at you, there is nothing you can do about it.When Moschetti left, at a certain point I thought I would never take him back. But I had too much grit and too much repressed anger inside meSo I pulled up alongside him and said in my head, “I’ll pass you now!” Last night I had the 54 removed that was left from the UAE Tour and I told the mechanic to put the 53 back onThe finish was at 3-4 percent, it seemed very tough to me. Also because we did 200 kilometers and I hadn't run since February 26th... ".
Waiting for the TAS
Bagheria is reflected in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Palermo is there in the distance with the outline of Monte Pellegrino. The public of the Tour of Sicily waited Fiorelli, born and raised on these streetsBut when Malucelli's blue jersey appeared in Moschetti's wake, knowing the recent events at Gazprom, we had no doubt that he would win. Nothing to take away from Moschetti and Fiorelli, but it couldn't have been otherwise.
«A lot of grit – admits Malucelli – and also pent-up anger. If you ask me how I am, I answer better than yesterday, but I still can't say I'm well.I don't have a team, not yet. We're waiting for the CAS. It was supposed to come out last week, they're saying to wait this one too. I was locked up at home for two months. The questions were always the same, and so were the answers.I told my dad not to ask me about cycling anymore, not to call me to see if there was anything new. But I trained. You know: we riders are brains… and I had been thinking about this stage for days.. I knew I only had one chance."
The right signal
While the others were racing in the blue jersey, Malucelli was at home. Coppi and Bartali were too tough, and then Larciano, but Bennati had circled his name with Sicily in mind and he repaid him with his first victory in Italy., at the first call-up to the blue shirt of his career.
"Without this call-up," Malucelli says, with the wind in the background, "I would have watched this race on TV. When we look at each other, I see a great desire to do wellBecause if the UCI doesn't grant the blessed exemption, we risk going a month and a half without racing. And this was my last chance. I'm happy. It's nice, it gives me morale, and I hope it sends a good message. We're all pissed off.I spent all of March at home thinking. The days passed, and in cycling, winning is what counts."
The outgoing winner of the Sicilian race is Vincenzo Nibali, welcomed with a roar from the crowd Caruso is competing after a period of training on Mount Etna: his legs are already in good shape. Valerio Conti is with him.
The outgoing winner of the Sicilian race is Vincenzo Nibali, welcomed with a roar from the crowd Caruso is competing after a period of training on Mount Etna: his legs are already in good shape. Valerio Conti is with him.
Between Damiano and Martina
Two hugs seemed more intense than the others after arriving: that of Damiano Caruso, a boy with a big heart, who looked at him with joy in his eyes. And then the one with Martina, his girlfriend, came to Sicily to see him run.
«After arriving, Damiano says to me: “Stop, I want to hug you!”. When you see a champion like him truly happy for your victory – his voice trembles – it gives you great satisfaction. In the end we were really excited. As for Martina… When she asked me if she could come and see me, I told her: “Why not? Maybe it will be my last race as a professional…” She looked at me and told me to go to hell.He suffered. Everyone at home experiences their problems as if they were the biggest in the world. We spent sleepless nights talking about what might happen.. And lately cohabitation was becoming burdensome. But now that Easter is comingLet's hope a Kinder egg arrives with the surprise we've been waiting for for two months. And if it's not a chocolate egg, a cannolo will do just fine...».
The sea slips into the evening, Tomorrow the Giro di Sicilia will go from Palma di Montechiaro to Caltanissetta, a terrain for climbers. Engineer Malucelli, arrived at the Gazprom-RusVelo for build a great future, stage winner at the Tour of Antalya and then caught up in a war bigger than him, he had a card to play and he did it in style. This should be the week in which the CAS will rule on the Russian team's appeal and only then theUCI will take a stand. Doing so sooner would mean admitting that he made a grave mistake.
