Even if the caravan of the Tour of Italy It's always the same and for 21 days – actually, between rest days and the day before, it reaches 28 – it all travels together, we don't always meet up so big it is and so many are the commitments. And we Alessandro Verre we finally met him just on the morning of Verres (the pun is completely random!).
A boy we have known for a long time, who we have seen grow up, who we even followed the most beautiful national under 23 team of Marino Amadori: The one who fought with Filippo Zana at Avenir and won the world championship in Leuven with Baroncini. And so the pleasure was mutual.
That impressive voice
It was the same desire of Alessandro Verre to confide. «When I was sick, guys. The morning in Bormio, on the bus I was out of breath just getting ready. – the Lucanian told of the Arkea-B&B Hotels – I just couldn't breathe. I thought: I'm not going to finish today. And so I'd go home."
As Alessandro spoke, we headed together toward the stage start. He toward the group, we toward our cars, both headed toward Sestriere. He spoke, but his voice was typical of someone with a serious cold, a nasal tone. Not his usual timbre. That's why the Lucanian had rarely been seen in the race until then. He had taken multiple courses of antibiotics.
But within a few hours, his pink race would change. It would have taken a completely different direction, moving from an “anonymous” Giro – at least for those who didn't know – to a Giro as a true fighter.
Verre present
Verre breaks away. On the climbs of the 20th stage, the group thins out until the final battle breaks out on the Colle delle Finestre. Two men escape: he and Harper. Then the Australian will take off. Behind Wout van aert before and Simon yates then they will recapture all the fugitives, except the two of them.
Upon arrival, that liberating cry and perhaps even some answers that came right at the last minute. And that we told you live while everyone was attacking Simon Yates, king of the Giro, and Isaac Del Toro, the great loser.
"We've fired our last bullets," Verres said, "our last remaining energy. Even if it's not a victory, for me it counts as a victory. And also for the team: everyone knows the difficult period we are experiencing at Arkea-B&B Hotels". The Breton team will most likely be forced to close its doors. It even seems that the team manager Huber has given the green light to its riders in view of 2026.
«This great performance – continues Verre – therefore goes to everyone: to the team, to my family, to my friends. So my crying was out of anger».
A very tough climb
«Before the Colle delle Finestre I felt great, but this climb wasn't for me.
And not so much because of the dirt road (Verre comes from mountain biking, ed.) but because it was really too long. I'm not used to climbs lasting an hour or more.
Despite everything, I had some confidence, but in the last few meters on the asphalt I realized it would get difficult. I immediately tried to match Harper's pace. Then, when I saw I was about to struggle, I tried to manage it and climb at my own pace. But in those last ten kilometers the climb was interminable. Infinite».
Regardless of Arkéa's difficulties, Verre's contract would have expired anyway. Therefore, showing off his skills in such a tough stage and on the Giro stage was important. But above all, that action gave him confidence for the second part of the season too.
From Sestriere to Rome
And lo and behold, the next day we found him on the run even in the Rome circuit, Certainly not his forte, considering we're talking about an athlete who weighs nearly 60 kilos and is a climber. But when your mind unwinds, your legs unwind too... especially when the worst of the cold and antibiotics are starting to wear off. We absolutely loved that attempt. A truly wonderful reaction.
It was like saying: "I'm here. I am this, not that of the previous stages."
"The one in Sestriere," says Verre, "was my first podium as a professional. If I think that a few days before, I wanted to go home..."
«The escape of Rome? It was more for fun and also to confirm what I had done the day before. Obviously we knew the group wouldn't give us much space, but it worked. In the meeting on the bus, I almost was the first one to suggest it – and then my teammates. I saw that I was doing well and I gave it a try.
Verre is currently continuing his recovery phase. No bike. Then he will begin work towards the Tour de Suisse and the Italian championship… maybe to lend a hand, together with Joshua Epis a Luca Mozzato.
