What is it about that scream that shakes him to the point of trembling? When Edoardo Zambanini He crosses the finish line in Matera and realizes he hasn't managed to pass Pedersen, he feels like an earthquake insideThe others blow away what breath of life he has left, he roars against the wind. There's regret at having been touched just as he was about to start. If he could have sprinted to the center and not over the barriers, perhaps he would have launched himself better. And there is the victory that every time seems close and instead at the last moment it moves away again. He had already arrived fifth in Valona, in a stage that is all in all similar. One of those in which Normal speedsters sink and only those with oversized engines stay afloat. Like today, if you look closely.
A breath from Pedersen
Matera is as hard as its stones and as every road that climbs from the valley floor to the top. Sprinters realize this when climbing Montescaglioso and only an imperial-sized Pedersen could resist such a tearWith his legs and his brain, managing to calibrate the revving on the climb to find a superior one in the sprint. Yet Zambanini was there and narrowly missed him.
«Today I had beautiful sensations all day long – says the Trentino native when his heart has stopped hurting – but overall, I'm feeling really good right now! We've also worked hard with the team during the training camps, and little by little, the results are starting to show. The goal was not to waste time in the general, so I made myself available of the team during the stage."
Tiberi-Caruso, different lights
On that hardest tear, they swear they saw Tiberius in slight difficultyAntonio slipped a bit and probably for a diesel like him, such an explosive finale wasn't the best. So much so that in the sprint, he took ninth place Caruso, while the captain remained in the center of the group.
"Once I finished my job," Zambanini continues, "I held firm on the climb. I found myself a bit behind in the final kilometer, precisely because I had helped earlier. But since I was physically well, I gave everything until the finish line.Maybe 5-10 more meters would have been enough, because I was really close. I'm really happy with these feelingsI thank the team for the trust they are placing in me, we are growing together!
Twenty kilometers of hell
This time Pedersen had to grit his teeth more than in the previous days. If the Valona stage had been entirely theirs, Lidl Trek, This time the accelerations of the UAE Team Emirates and then Roglic's forced the pink jersey and his squires to run in recoveryVacek took him by the hand, waiting for him when Mads slipped away and then launching him into a sprint with the usual great gear ratio that has bent the legs of many.
«I wasn't at all sure I had won – says the pink jersey – the last 20 kilometers were incredibly hardI suffered a lot. After the last climb, I was a bit behind and had to expend a lot of energy to get back on Vacek's wheel. Luckily, I still had enough left for the final sprint. Winning with the pink jersey is crazy. It's so much more than I ever dreamed.What a Giro and what a team I have around me… Tomorrow we go to Naples, I already won there (in 2023, beating Milan, his current teammate, ed.), but Now I'm thinking about enjoying this success».
Honor to Vacek
After arriving he stopped on the right with his head down and the sweat soaking his shirtHe grabbed a drink from the masseur's fridge. You can bet he didn't even look at his laptop, instead thinking about catching his breath. When Ciccone arrived, the two hugged each otherThe script repeats itself, but perhaps we're in the final stages, and starting Friday in Tagliacozzo, the tables will turn. Here's hoping the Dane doesn't choose to leave at some point.
"Three wins out of five stages," Pedersen continues, "is an incredible achievement. We wanted to start strong to take the pink jersey in Albania and rack up wins as well as valuable points for the cyclamen. In the final, when Roglic accelerated, I told Vacek to follow himHe's in great condition and had the right to play his cards if I had left. He's proven to be strong and intelligent, because he slowed down the pace allowing me to get back inHis work has been fundamental and I hope he can have a chance between now and the end of the Giro. When they told me I would come to the Giro, I accepted, because It's the team that decides and the team that pays the salaries. But I have to say that I'm really having an exceptional time."
