RIMINI – There are a lot of people waiting for the riders, as there were a lot in Florence this time Tuscan departure of the Tour de France which remains as a look of amazement on Bettiol's face. Yet when Alberto arrived at the bus, he had a sullen look and nerves on edge.He left his bike down there, didn't respond to any greetings, and then disappeared down the three steps, looking for a sheltered place to vent his anger. Shortly after Ben Healy got off and started rolling his legs, the only one in the teamHis attack, while his teammates were shooting behind him, raised more than one question.
At the foot of the pink bus of the EF Education-Easy Post There's a small group of Carapaz fans cheering on their champion. They point out how bad it was to have him excluded from the Olympic selection. He is the outgoing winner, but perhaps after Tokyo he spoke too harshly against its Olympic committee. Right next door is Lisa, Bettiol's blonde companion, who has understood that bad mood very well and smiles to suggest that it will pass.. And in fact after about ten minutes, Bettiol gets off the bus. He's wearing a black suit and the smile of someone who has begun to make peace with the world.
«I'm happy with how I felt – he says – especially for the warmth I received and this is the most important thing. But that's how it is in a race, sometimes it doesn't take much. The two guys (Bardet, who won, and Van den Broeck, who helped him do so, ed.) did well when it came to attacking. Maybe we made a mistake in moving Ben Healy and instead we should have pushed a bit more.But that's fine, that's cycling. Anyway, come on, if your legs are like this, you've got three weeks to have fun."
The yellow one a few meters away
He won the group sprint Wout Van Aert ahead of Pogacar, Alberto finished tenthIt's hard to say whether things would have turned out differently if the stage had still been played. But meanwhile, as the first rumors of Italy's match against Switzerland begin to filter through from the bars along the seafront, the discussion continues.
«We wanted to do the hardest race – continues Bettiol, speaking about his teammate's attack – and we thought we were moving to force others to collaborateVisma was compact, setting a strong pace, but not excessively so. Ciccone's Lidl was also pulling. And in the end we missed them by a few metersMaybe, given how I felt, given how the team worked, we deserved more.
«Anyway it is a day that I will surely remember for as long as I liveIt was almost unrepeatable, I tried to enjoy every inch of the road. I will take this beautiful shirt around FranceBut first, we arrive in Bologna tomorrow, then Turin, and then we leave again from Pinerolo. The team played a good race, we feel good. It's a shame because in the end, by just a few meters, we missed out on a yellow jersey..."
A promise to the fans
Maybe because we were there when that tricolor conquered him and he spoke of leaving Florence as if it were a fairy tale, We are overcome by the desire to hear about the departureFrom the moment we got off the bus, it was a swarm of people, a crowd we've rarely seen so large, albeit a little unruly.
«Going with the Tour de France Above Ponte Vecchio,” he smiles, “it was a dream. I had fun, it was something unique. It was beautiful, I had fun and I was moved: it was nice to be part of this show, it's a shame about the endingWas it anger or regret when I arrived here? A little anger, but a healthy anger. We're here to do good.
«I was sure that the stage would go like this. Tough, guys, but not too much, because we are at the TourThis stage at the Coppi e Bartali, with all due respect, features one rider in each corner. At the Tour, nearly 50 sprinters arrive. That's normal; the level is very high. So I raise the stakes and promise to try every day.. Like I did today, like we tried as a team. I promise myself, first of allAnd I think the Italians will have fun with me and I hope to dedicate a victory to them. Not tomorrow though, tomorrow will be very tough. Tomorrow Pogacar wins.».
