Nizzolo is only now beginning to understand this. Maybe Ghent threw it away, even if Van Aert might have won anywayIt's been almost an hour since we arrived and Giacomo hasn't seen the sprint yet, but by dint of being told that perhaps something went wrong, some cracks are opening in the belief professed at the finish line of having done everything well.
«The finish was short – he says – I ran all day as I wanted. I took the sprint from behind because I thought I didn't have any legs. to do it in the lead. I thought I was tired and maybe doing it in a comeback was better. I could have played better, but the strongest one won. I would like this to be clear…»
Strangled comeback
Maybe the new ending of the Ghent-Wevelgem with new mileage due to a fire. Or the fact that Van Aert wisely kept Van Hooydonck close to him, preventing anyone from taking a shot. Perhaps it was actually the feeling of fatigue from responding to the attacks on the Kemmel and then two lunges from Kung in the finale. The 55 and the road wheels, because there wasn't really that much paving. Everything was there to do well, and yet something went wrong. In fact, while Van Aert, with Trentin and Colbrelli in tow, launched themselves into the sprint, Nizzolo had yet to begin his comeback. Which in a short arrival as he described it very well, remained suffocated in the throat.
Double regret
"And my throat," he smiles sadly, "has been bothering me since Sanremo. I remember we'd already talked about it. And let's just say that certain efforts and the cold north wind aren't helping it go away. On the climb they didn't drop me because we were going too fast to make the difference. In the final, Van Hooydonck was ordered to shoot until the end. I answered Kung, who started from in front of me and I didn't want to let him go. The comeback, already the comeback. I was behind. I jumped and had to stop pedalingI circled around one and then started again. I'm left with the knowledge that at the end of long runs I'm still fast, but I'm starting to feel a little regretful. I still have Sanremo in my throat.I won the bunch sprint well. That knee strike on the handlebars at the beginning of the year got me to the finish line. Classicissima A little late, but I'm fine now and I'm looking forward to Flanders. I only did it once as a new pro with Cancellara, so I don't remember much. I'll stay up here until Roubaix. Because they tell us it should be done.».
Thanks to Van Hooydonck
First Van Aert and then the three Italians, it was clear whether to be depressed or to accept that behind the giant there were only our own.
«It was a very fast sprint – says the Belgian – we had favorable winds from the Kemmel and we were able to manage the finale well. Van Hooydonck did a fantastic job all day, but in the finale it was superb. It wasn't an easy day. The breakaway wasn't very large and we had to cover several kilometers, each one pulling for his own part. We always had the wind against us, It was a huge effort, but it was so worth it».
Probably He thought about the Kemmel and chose not to attack in depth, as Van der Poel perhaps would have done. Some races are won with the mind and not just with character. This is why Van Aert is perhaps superior to the Dutchman.
Trentin, almost perfect
IERI (Yesterday) Trentin had got them all right. He only got the prediction wrong on the Trek-Segafredo, because he couldn't have known that due to a double positive Covid test, the American team wouldn't be able to start. But when the conversation turned to the sprint, There was little that could be done against Van Aert.
«Still third like last year – he says – I'm a little disappointed, but it's not a shame to come behind someone like thatLet's say I'm 50 percent happy. It turned out to be a very tough race. After 60-70 kilometers, everything was already broken. I made the first selectionI wanted to give the group a once-over, which was all compact. I turned around and had the entire Bike Exchange following me. A nice group had formed, no one was playing catch-up. And then Kemmel gave the next skimmingsWhat does this mean for the Tour of Flanders? Everything and nothing. You can't compare the two races. The Tour of Flanders has more climbs and more cobblestones, and I hope to win it. So when we talk about the past week on Sunday, we could say that the third in Ghent was the signal of the condition».
Colbrelli's doubts
At the end there is Colbrelli, who he lost the podium in the last 30 meters and it annoys him a little. The voice always comes out of a well, exhausted and darkThey were going strong all day and in Sonny's season review there is the choice of don't rush to Sanremo, trying a way of doing things that probably didn't bear fruit.
«But this guy is a phenomenon – says Colbrelli, referring to Van Aert – and his teammate helped him by blocking the shots. Without him, he might have won anyway, but he had to close all the gaps.And on the climbs he didn't leave us behind. The sprint? Looking back at it, maybe I was wrong to get out of his wake. Instead of thinking about passing it, I had to stay there and maybe he would take me to the podium, since Trentin passed me with the last three pedal strokes. I'm still missing something, because I haven't run much. We tried this preparation, it was right to do it, but I don't have explosiveness and ease in relaunchingIt was a good test for Sunday, even if Van der Poel, Alaphilippe and others will be back in action in Flanders. However, the races up here are all different.In Harelbeke, Deceuninck seemed unbeatable, but today they melted away. Would anything have changed without Bennett's illness? Probably. I was next to him when he threw up, he almost took me too.I couldn't believe my eyes. I looked at him and said to myself, 'What is this guy doing?'
