SESTRIERE – Let's start from the end. Since we asked Chris Harper, the stage winner, what today's success means to him and whether he is happy about it Simon yates who until last year was his teammate and who behind the stage he hugged warmly.
«For me it's fantastic – he said – I couldn't have asked for anything better for my career.I've had my ups and downs over the three weeks, so it's nice to end on such a positive note. I've been Simon's teammate for the last two years and I did a lot of races to support him and his general classification ambitionsI trained a lot with him too and I know how talented he is. I knew he was capable of winning Grand Tours and I'm almost happier to see him in pink than to have won the stage. I'm super happy for him. I wish I was still his teammate to help him get a result like this., which certainly deserves it."
Two Australian stages
For the Jayco-AlUla The second stage victory of this Giro arrives in Sestriere, which began amid discontent over the exclusion of Alessandro De Marchi and the removal of Matthew White as head of the technical structure. It was difficult to grasp the soul of the team, but In the end it was two Australian riders who left their mark, as was probably right. Luke Plapp in Castelraimondo and Chris Harper, precisely, in Sestriere in the last mountain stage.
He is 30 years old and has a gaunt face made dark by his beard. He is incredulous, because he had never achieved such an important victory before.. In some ways his success today is reminiscent of that of Prodhomme in yesterday's stage: both big, both gregarious and both protagonists of long escapes that led to the finish.
When you set off this morning, did you imagine you'd win at the head of such a long breakaway?
No, not really. The idea was to work for the breakaway, but I wasn't even sure that the breakaway would make it to the finish line.. I thought that, with the big battle for the general classification, one of the strongest riders would have caught us and won the stage. But when I found myself in such a strong group and then we had that big advantage, I set my pace until I was aloneAt that point it was just a matter of getting to the end and not exploding.
The sliding door opens, a great clatter of cleats on the sheet metal floor. Enter Hepburn, compatriot, teammate and friendHarper had already started smiling as she saw him coming up the stairs. She approaches the table, and the other man gets up. They hug. They say incomprehensible words and then Hepburn walks away., jokingly declining the invitation to ask him a few questions.
You finally made it to Finestre. When did you start to believe you could do it?
Getting there wasn't easy, we set a rather fast pace to reach the foot of the climbThe first to move was Remy Rochas of Groupama and I followed him. Then other riders joined and at that point I decided to attack and only Verres managed to follow me. For a while we went together, then I thought it was better to go at my own pace to the top. On such a long and tough climb, managing your effort is crucial.So once I was free, it was a matter of keeping the effort under control. I still had enough strength to reach the finish line.
Did you notice from the voices in the crowd or did they tell you over the radio what was happening behind you?
On the Windows, my sports director kept me updated on the gaps, telling me how far behind the riders were in the general classification. Then I heard on the radio that Simon Yates was alone with a pretty substantial leadFinally, after the Finestre, going down the valley, I knew that Simon was doing something great and this made me nervous, because there was still a long way to go. I feared that the gap might close quickly., but I'm glad I managed to resist.
From the street the chants begin to increase, Yates is probably arriving. At the foot of the stage, Isaac Del Toro speak to the press officer of the UAE EmiratesBehind the podium, opinions and hugs are exchanged. The victory of a domestique after Yates' feat will certainly be overlooked, but the fact that Harper was the first to express his joy for his friend will make less annoying is the fact that we write the story of the new pink jersey first and then that of the stage winner.
