TAGLIACOZZO – And here we are, one year later: first Apennine stage and new on the flagship of Decathlon AG2R. And it's always a beautiful experience, because be inside the Tour of Italy it's a huge thing. This time our guide was the sporting director, one of the most experienced of the French team Didier Jannel.
We talked a lot about tactics with the French coach. And all in all, experiencing the race from the inside, we asked ourselves a few questions. Why, for example, the BORA-hansgrohe Did he push so hard? Through telephone connections to and from other television stations, the French sports director had learned that Roglic's team wasn't interested in the stage. "So why is he pushing?" Jannel objected.
Tactics first
Jens Voigt, a former rider now a Eurosport correspondent, came to interview the sports director and asked him for his opinion on the race. And Jannel also expressed his doubts to the German about the tactical direction of the race. Obviously, with his Nicolas Prodhomme in the escape he hoped for a more substantial advantage.
And more tactics and questions: why Pedersen and his companions increased the pace to the point of even causing some falls on the descent?
Perhaps you didn't see it on TV, but in the final glide, the pack had stretched out and become noticeably more fragmented. Moreover, it was at the end of the glide itself that a spectacular moment occurred, one that can only be experienced by being in the race.
At that moment it was adrenaline-filled to witness the mass return of the boys from Groupama-FDJ, all lined up for Captain Gaudu. Eight riders, a train. They flew away at 65 miles an hour between team cars, curves, roundabouts, motorcycles... The jury had swooped down on them like a hawk. The last wagon to wait for the train was Lorenzo GermaniThe Lazio rider, flat on his bike, was riding like a charm.
Prodhomme on the run
Just arrived this morning at the Decathlon-AG2R clan in Castel di Sangro We immediately noticed 14 bikes. Seven of them remained: why bring so many? Because seven were for the race and another seven were ready on the rollers. The start was indeed uphill, and the French team's goal was twofold: to prevent Sam Bennett, the sprinter and captain, from dropping behind and to put Prodhomme in the breakaway. The young man did a fantastic job in achieving his goal.
So, here we are on the route. We left about twenty minutes before the stage. After a few kilometers we ate a tasty sandwich prepared by a local chef and when the breakaway finally started, we also officially entered the race. This way, we found ourselves right behind the breakaway, without having to make dangerous maneuvers to overtake the group. A practice that has become standard practice.
At that point the sporting director took control of the situation… and the radio. He carefully pointed out the salient points of the route: tough, technical, treacherous sections.
Radio in hand
After the most challenging climb of the day, Monte Urano (it was very bad), Jannel said to the boy: "Now there's an easy climb, try to eat, think about fueling yourself." Shortly after, radiocorsa called our flagship. Prodhomme asked for gels and a water bottle with 80 grams of carbohydrates.
The sports director, however, remained somewhat unsure. The maximum gap had reached four minutes, but BORA was still keeping pace. Jannel kept Prodhomme constantly updated on the gaps, but remained uncertain about the tactical direction.
However, For a moment, with about 65 kilometers to go, it even seemed as if the escape might succeed. The lead was good overall, the race behind had fallen slightly asleep and the course and wind were favorable.
Jannel wanted to keep her boyfriend's spirits up and told him: "Watch out for Scaroni. Because Scaroni, we know him; he won the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes this year, he's in good shape. But it's also true that he crashed yesterday." As if to say, "Take care of him" but don't be afraid.
Another man to keep an eye on was Paul Double"He's a very important climber. You know how he goes, and this year he won a stage at the Coppi e Bartali." And then he added something that also involved Buitrago, but which we couldn't quite make out in the chaos of the race.
The harsh reality…
On the final descent of the day, the gap begins to narrow. Ciccione's Lidl-Trek has a hand in it. He even pulls with Pedersen himself, the pink jersey. And so, with about 25 kilometers to go, the jury, with the lead barely over a minute, stopped the team cars following the breakaway. And so did ours.
We have to admit: a bit of sadness descended on the team car at that moment. It's true, we knew that at that point the seven guys in front would no longer be there, but hope, as they say, dies last.Nico is fine – Jannel had said – the victory at Tour of the Alps gave him confidence that he could do well here at the Giro and that he could win a stage. Because winning a stage was and remains our goal."
Once we got behind the pack, the talk on the radio changed radically. The discussion returned to logistics: how to pick up the athletes, where to park, how to regroup for the buses that were 15 kilometers from the finish line. In short, how to organize the return journey for the next stage, which will again be very, very tough.
