"Was a day like Donald Duck – says Maestri – today is one of those days for meAt a certain point, I'm not even surprised anymore. But like Donald Duck, I'm stubborn, and that won't make me give up."
After arriving, he collapsed on the handlebars, shaken by sobs of anger and fatigue. Now that half an hour has passed, he has the smiling face and found the reason to lighten the mood.
French respect
Arnaud Demare won the Cuneo stage on the day Bardet left the Giro, but this time the sprinters risked not making itThe breakaway that started on the Colle di Nava actually reached 600 meters from the finish line, which means that something back there didn't go as it should have.
«At a certain point – said the winner – I started to doubt the chances of resuming the escape because some of my teammates had already given their all. I thought I was a little cooked too actuallyOnly with 10 kilometers to go did I start to believe, but I was really at the limit. It's wonderful to win again; three victories is a great haul. I learned during the stage that Romain was retiring and I think it's a shame.He was in great shape, he had made a lot of sacrifices."
And so after Messina and Scalea, the third stage arrives for Demare A long escape for Maestri and, at a certain point, a clear sense of success Instead, behind him, Israel-Premier Tech also did its part to get him back.
And so after Messina and Scalea, the third stage arrives for Demare A long escape for Maestri and, at a certain point, a clear sense of success Instead, behind him, Israel-Premier Tech also did its part to get him back.
300 meters missed
A hand-to-hand fight, nothing different. And while they were circling in good accord in front, At a certain point they began to understand that it wasn't going to be a game.
"I'm a fighter," says Maestri, "in this sort of rebound between winners and losers, I often go on the run. This year, with the team, we tried to put the dots, not to rush in a Garibaldian fashion and to be focused in key momentsThere always comes a moment when you believe. If you didn't believe, you wouldn't be there fighting. The team did a great job. We knew today could be a great day. We were close, we weren't far off. We were just 300 meters away.We knew it could be difficult for the group to come and pick us up and it showed."
Gaviria stopped
A few meters away from him, Jacopo Guarnieri was panting visibly, his body sweaty as if after a stage of the TourThe heat was one of the factors today between Liguria and Piedmont.
«It wasn't easy to get back to the guys in front – said the last man of the Groupama-FDJ - we pushed like hellThen once we got to the front, everything was more straightforward. We know what it takes to be there.
«Things for me – he said recalling that in the Messina stage he had dropped on Portella Mandrazzi while here he resisted at Colle di Nava – are going well better day by dayToday was different from Messina, a different pace. Two weeks of running in the legs means that more or less everyone has the same level, the difference is made with positioning and choice of timeBut catching them wasn't easy at all. Everyone shot except Sinkeldam and me. But my legs hurt terribly… It was hard to chase and so was the finish. Arnaud was good, he held the rope and he left no room for Gaviria to exit».
Great sprint by Demare which prevented Bauhaus from coming back Sinkeldam, like Guarnieri, was the only Groupama rider not to have to follow the breakaway Gaviria failed to find the gap on Demare's left and finished in 4th place
Great sprint by Demare which prevented Bauhaus from coming back Sinkeldam, like Guarnieri, was the only Groupama rider not to have to follow the breakaway Gaviria failed to find the gap on Demare's left and finished in 4th place
Group in trouble
In the final kilometer, when it was clear that they were about to be eaten, Maestri let go and made it clear that he had finally given up. Then suddenly he arched over his bike and attacked with the group a few meters awayHe smiles as he tells it.
«I wanted to be smart – he admits – it already happened to me in 2019 when I overdid it and lost it. This time I wanted to risk losing her and let others do more workI was fine. I knew I had a fast start, and in fact, when I set off, I immediately gained ground on my breakaway companions. It was just a matter of getting as close to the finish as possible. I took a risk, the group was coming strong. Five seconds would have been enough. If I had had the right gap, we could have reached the finish line.It's those two kilometers of hesitations in the group that sometimes allow the breakaway to arrive, but they didn't have them. They also arrived right on time. And if you end up like this at the last minute it means something went wrong.The condition is there, I'll definitely try again."
Bardet, what a shame…
The group left him there to cradle his broken dream, but It didn't take much to rekindle Maestri's gazeNot so for Bardet. At sunset, the disheartened words of the Frenchman and the Team DSM doctor arrive.
«During yesterday's stage – says Anko Boelens – Romain started having stomach problemsWe tried to manage the situation during the race to get him through the day We hoped he could get some rest in the evening, but unfortunately we saw little improvement overnight. This morning we tried everything we could to get him to the finish line, but he was still in pain and unable to eat. With so little energy in his body, it was no longer possible for him to continue."
And while the Giro d'Italia loses a sure protagonist, Tomorrow promises to be a terrible dayWith this heat and the altitude difference of the Turin stage, the group is already talking about a turnaround.
