Cimolai second behind Ewan
The Friulian deceives the wait to become a dad with another good sprint. “Ewan was stronger, this time I’m happy.”
TERMOLI. He waits for days, perhaps hours, to become a father, meanwhile he deceives the wait for the Giro d’Italia by placing high level sprints.
After the second place in the third stage in Piedmont in Canale d’Alba, mocked by the attack from afar by Taco Van der Hoorn, and a lot of anger, Davide Cimolai repeated himself.
Except that in the land of truffles and good wine he was full of anger and regrets, in Molise, where you can see in one fell swoop Tremiti, Gargano and Maiella and the sun and the sea, after days of bad weather, bring back the classic atmosphere of Around in May, the 31-year-old from Fontanafredda of the Israel Start Up Nation is beaten, but happy and satisfied.
A detail of the sprint
A boring stage that the group plays while dozing leaving the three brave of the day in a bain-marie, ignites in the last 1,500 meters.
The menu featured a sharp turn to the right, followed by a sudden two hundred meters upwards. Little stuff, but enough to sift through the small group of contenders for victory.
At that point, in a final always slightly uphill, Daniel Oss (Bora), Peter Sagan’s praetorian, took care of the cards trying to favor the captain.
Fernando Gaviria (UAE), lord of the withered sprints, tried to surprise everyone by anticipating the sprint 350 meters from the finish. Here Ewan made a masterpiece. He delayed for a moment, because otherwise he would have “burned” and then, while Sagan behind he chose to pass grazing the barriers finding a road blocked by Andrea Pasqualon (Wanty), he produced the decisive shot. He won easy. Behind him an always convincing Cimolai, already second in Canale d’Alba in the third stage. He lacks the cent to make the lira, but he is still there, like Tim Merlier (Alpecin), third and held back by an indisposition “at the Dumoulin Giro 2017” on the Termoli route.
“When the strongest beats you, and Ewan has proved to be the strongest, that’s right,” says “Cimo”, who is expecting a call from his Alessia from Friuli for the birth of his baby. «Gaviria started long, maybe because he didn’t have any, Ewan jumped after him, I tried but I just had to hope he slowed down instead …».
«Not bad – he continues – I’ll try again, I would have gladly dedicated the victory to my mother and child, I’ll have time, maybe Monday in Foligno, I can’t wait for the Gorizia stage to arrive». The others? The beaten? Sagan fails to break the ice, as well as the blue couple Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka) and Elia Viviani (Cofidis) who, covered by the European and Italian titles won, have something else in common: the fasting of stages in this Giro.
Attila Valter’s pink jersey
And Saturday they won’t be able to break it. Because the stage is a warm invitation to the “adventure seekers” of the day. From Foggia, the southernmost point touched by the Giro this year, towards Guardia Sanframondi in the Benevento area. One hundred and seventy kilometers, a long intermediate climb and an upward ending. Attila Valter (Groupama), the Hungarian in pink, will let go, Egan Bernal, (Ineos) and Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck) as well. Bye, bye sea, as Casadei sang: it will be seen again in Grado, fifteenth stage.
Ah, seven stages of the Giro, three second places, a pink jersey worn two days (Ale De Marchi) and a stage won in the flagship by a ds (Franco Pellizotti). Well no?
.