ROME – In Rafal Majka's gaze there is the disappointment of those who were one step away from victory and find themselves with nothingWhat happened on Saturday on Colle delle Finestre continues to sound strange. The apparent disinterest of Del Toro in defending the pink jersey from Yates' attack He left a lot of questions unanswered. This morning on the team bus there was an admission that there was little from to invent tactically, since the Mexican had no legs to do anything elseBut for a defeat like that we would have expected a more fought surrender.
Del Toro suddenly
The most eloquent image portrays Majka at the head of the chasing group, with dry saliva around his mouth, trying to perform yet another miracle as a great gregarious. Del Toro He shouldn't have been there, almost stopped in the middle of the road to Sestriere. He should have been up front with Carapaz and Yates defending the pink jersey, but he wasn't. They tried to relaunch it, but the omelette was done.. Majka tells, you can see he's upset. Maybe more than Del Toro, who will have to draw a valuable lesson from this defeat.
«When we reached him, it was late – he says – everything had already happened in the last 2 kilometers of the Finestre climb. Nothing else can be said except that we were one step away from winning the Tour of Italy. But I think these lessons will do him good. From mistakes, the foundations for victory are laid».
All around the Giro is coming to an end. The days of Tirana they seem like years ago: the pages that have been written since then will be the reason for our insights. It was really a very intense journey, starting from when Siena crowned the very young pink jersey.
Del Toro He's only 21, and everyone says your role alongside him has been invaluable.
We lacked some experience, but the whole team worked really well for 20 days. It seems to me that only the UAE Emirates really controlled the raceNo one else could keep up the climbs like we did. But we lost the whole last day, but This is cycling and Isaac is only 21 years old. He has a great future and we hope he wins the Giro soon.I had to work a little harder with him, because he's young and I have the experience he needs. The good thing is that he's a golden boy, let's hope.
Could it have been a nervous problem?
It's normal to be nervous when you have the shirt on the last day. We wanted the whole team to be with him, because we all wanted to win.But that's how it happened, and we can't change anything. I can't say if it was more of a head problem or a leg problem.You should ask the guy. I didn't ask and I didn't want to. What I know is that you work three weeks, you control the entire race, and it's not easy to miss the last day.
Was there any confidence in winning yesterday morning?
Yes, we wanted to win and we thought we could. The only opponent we had identified was Carapaz and normally we would have been able to hold him. It's just that in my opinion... It was a mistake when he started the climb so fast, because they were left with three in front and we were left with five behindBut that's cycling, you can't do anything.
How long did it take you last night to figure out how it all ended?
I still don't quite understand. I won the Giro and the Tour with Pogacar and also the Vuelta with Contador. I was also aiming to win a stage at the Giro, because I still haven't won one.But I started playing domestique for the young rider, and in the end, it worked out well. Second place was nice, but we still haven't won.
Were you okay?
I was feeling very good. Like last year with Tadej, I prepared the Giro in detailI was feeling really good, but I have to repeat it again: this is cycling, guys.
