CHAMPOLUC – At the press conference of Nicolas Prodhomme, French winner of the nineteenth stage of the Giro d'Italia, there were four journalists: three Italians and only one Frenchman, Nicholas Perotto de L'EquipeIt seems like a clockwork tale, because they say that When it will arrive Del Toro, to the rider of the Decathlon-AG2R will be asked to leaveThe title of a film comes to mind: Children of a Lesser God. The monitor framing the journalists present in the press room shows a series of empty chairs, is it possible that no one cares? We remember it on the cable car with which we descended together from Mount Lussari of 2023 and we remember it from the last Tour of the Alps: the rest is yet to be discovered.
The courage to attack
Yet Prodhomme won with a number to frame, especially because the starting idea was to do exactly what we sawThis morning at the start, Decathlon-AG2R was on the rollers warming up, evidently wanting to get off to a strong start. He entered the first breakaway with about 110 kilometers to go.Then, after a series of attacks on the Col de Joux, he dropped Verona and Tiberi, the last survivors of the morning's attempt. The final push brought him to 28 kilometers from the finish line. And thanks to the hesitant attitude of the challengers of Del Toro, the margin was rising and growing, but he never went under 55 seconds.
«When we met up on the Col de Joux – he says – I saw that the difference compared to the group wasn't huge. I thought there would be attacks and I felt like attacking, because I had already achieved two fifth places.I know that to win you have to take risks, I tried and I won, but I only started to believe it in the last kilometer. I knew I had an advantage, but I also knew that the others behind me would move. carapaz, Yates and Del Toro, the big favorites. Del Toro He's very strong downhill, he always takes a lot of risks and I was afraid that the advantage wouldn't be enough. Instead in the last kilometer I saw that I had the car behind me and that is only there if the advantage is more than a minute.. And at that point I knew I was going to win."
Professional at 24 years old
Press conference in English, but after three answers in English and two in French, the following appears from the lineup of the interview van Del ToroThere's just time for one more question. The pink jersey is in no hurry and sits at the back, but the wave of journalists following him suggests continuing down from the truckCommon sense would dictate that you stay up there to hear what the Mexican has to say, but a sense of respect pushes us to follow the FrenchHe won a stage at the Tour of Italy. To the Tour of the Alps He had won the first race at 28 years old.
«Exactly, I'm 28 years old – he explains – and I became a professional quite late (He was 24, ed.) I interned in three teams, but I always returned to the amateurs. It wasn't easy to adapt to high-level sport, I didn't turn pro on my first try, so winning a stage in a Grand Tour is a really huge thing.Last night I thought that the opportunities were getting fewer and fewer and I felt I had good legs, but until now I had always lacked courage. I really thought that the last two mountain stages were reserved for the favorites and I must admit that two years ago I would never have dared to attack my escape companions. Instead the victory at Tour of the Alps and the many escapes in which I felt physically well and in which I had no regrets, gave me confidence and boldness. And today I started to attack at kilometer zero, I haven't ridden many kilometres in a group (laughs, ed.)».
Not just by luck
Professional for five years, 1,74 m tall and weighing 63 kg, in 2019 he won the Orlen Grand Prix, the stage race for U23s organized by the Tour de Pologne staffThe quality was already there back then. It's fine that he turned pro late, it's fine that he found the courage to attack Verona and Tiberi, but what's different about this 2025 season, which has already brought him two victories?
"I had good legs," he says, "that's for sure. Today I think the level is so high that you have to hurt yourself. The last 20 kilometers were all a mental thing, which is helping me a lot this year, but I also have legsI've improved further from last year, but the only thing I can say for sure is that I have made the most progress in terms of self-confidenceThese last few weeks have definitely made a big difference in my career. Winning your first race is a huge thing and gives you a lot of confidence, but I feel like I'm still improving.Last year I had a great racing program, but with a team role. This year I also had some good luck, even if I would never say that I won just by luck».
