FENIS – And luckily the stage was too long for under-23s. They would have managed. Il Tour of the Aosta Valley gave another great show. The boys attacked each other like there was no tomorrow from the start. A fraction like this can be compared to that of L'Aquila in Tour of Italy Part 2010 or to make a more recent comparison to that of Tourmalet from a few days ago al Tour de France. E the Van Aert of the situation was Darren Rafferty, with the difference that as of this evening he is the new yellow jersey of the race.
Yet in all this chaos – it is even difficult to find a place to start writing – the king of the day is not him, but Sergio Meris (here you can see his arrival). Thanks to him the Colpack-Ballan returns to leave his mark on the Aosta Valley after the incredible victory of Alexander Verres two years ago.
The perfect storm
Cap from 172,5 kilometers and well over 4.000 meters of elevation gain. Some fear the time limit. Against this backdrop, it turns out to be an incredible race. Worthy of a stage trial debate.
Attack the Hagen's Berman Axeon with Antonio Morgado. He is followed by some athletes including two from the Soudal-Quick Step. There is confusion and Darren Rafferty, third in the morning, comes out of the counterattacks on the first of the five GPMs. An arrow. It falls on the leading group and the breakaway immediately increases the lead.
And here the "stage trial" begins: Why do the other teams let it happen if there's such a big fish inside? That's what we asked ourselves, even before we saw the footage and spoke to the players. The idea was to check with the sporting directors once we arrived.
In reality they didn't let it happen. Davide De Cassan confides to us that first Groupama-Fdj and then Alexy Faure Prost's Circus-ReUs pushed hard, too. Only that in front Morgado, Rafferty and the Soudal were pushing hard. The objective of the latter, which was achieved, was the best climber's jersey with Jonathan Vervenne. All of this created the perfect storm. A storm that Rafferty and Meris managed to exploit to the fullest.
Rafferty as Van Aert
Rafferty, We were saying, he looked like Van Aert: he shot incredibly. After losing Morgado, who was exhausted and also super, He led continuously for 40 of the remaining 45 kilometers.
Upon arrival, the Irishman stares into space and says: "Our action wasn't supposed to be exactly like this. Yes, we were supposed to attack with one man. But then I saw that Morgado wasn't too far away. I felt good and I threw myself into it. We immediately took a good lead and at that point we insisted.
«Morgado was exceptional. He did a super jobHe pulled for 50-60 kilometers. I didn't expect to take such a big lead, but we really went full throttle. I'm sorry about the stage, but I was thinking about the overall. and that's why I always pulled. It was a crazy stage and one of the hardest days of my life."
He didn't win the stage, but as he waited to take the stage to don the yellow jersey, Rafferty was already thinking about the next day. "I know we'll have to defend ourselves. Today the goal was the jersey and I achieved it. I know tomorrow's climbs; we did them last year. I like them, it'll still be tough, but I'm fine."
His expression is impressive. Rafferty is absolutely devastated. He looks disappointed. He can't laugh. Right onstage, he manages a smile.
Great Meris
Who laughs instead, and rightly so, it's Sergio Meris. For him, it was a very important success, in terms of weight, prestige, legs and mind. Sergio gets on the right train and rides out that storm we were talking about. He sticks to Rafferty's wheel and won't let go. Except when the DSM flagship literally sticks to his. It's the start of the final climb, and a shiver runs down the spines of Italian fans.
«Following that impact I had a problem with the chain – Meris said after arriving – I lost about thirty seconds, but I managed to get back without spending too much."
And to think that Meris hadn't done well at all yesterday. But perhaps this success is the result of the fraction from 24 hours ago.
«Yesterday was really a bad day. My legs weren't working, so I finally decided to save some money. Yes, maybe that's where this victory came from.
«Today things went much better. I – a bit like Rafferty – I had Kajamini in front and more than anything I tried to stay careful in front of the group. When Rafferty and the others started moving, I followed them. At first, I have to say, I still didn't feel like my legs were in good shape, but then things got better and better."
The click you feel
Meris recounts the moment of the decisive shot. His sports director Gianluca Valoti, moved upon arrival at Clavalité – a true natural paradise – he had told him not to move before four kilometres from the finish.
«But I saw that I was getting better and better – Meris continues – I noticed that Brenner and Rafferty weren't pedaling very well anymore and their watts had dropped a bit. So I decided to go first. I felt really good."
One thing we noticed was that Meris, unlike the other two, had been eating and drinking all day. While the Irishman and the German were there, fighting hard. Little things, which are not small things, are crucial on such a long and tough stage.
There is one stage left, the Cervinia classic with Saint Pantaleon and Cervinia in the finale. Everything is open, given that upsets are never lacking in this match, but with a Rafferty like this there is little that can be done. It remains to be seen whether he will pay the price.
The standings see the Irishman in the lead with 2'44" on the Frenchman Alexy Faure Prost and 3'19" on the Mexican Isaac Del Toro, Today he did a great job recovering more than 4 minutes in the two final climbs at the head of the race. While the former yellow jersey, Golliker, reached over 12′ and serenely said goodbye to the leadership.
