FROM SENT TO SALÒ. The heroes of the Giro d’Italia rest in Salò, between massages, press conferences and meetings with the sporting directors in view of the 16th stage from Salò to Aprica (Sondrio) on Tuesday of 202 km and 5,250 meters in altitude, a day that will offer a sure show and with a very open outcome. In fact, anything can still happen at the Giro.
On Tuesday the Passo del Mortirolo will decide, which will be climbed from the Monno side on a road that becomes narrow and very steep at 3 kilometers from the summit. It will reach 1,854 meters, after 12.6 kilometers of ascent, with a vertical drop of 962 meters and an average gradient of 7.6%. The final climb is to the Valico di Santa Cristina. A great part of the history of two wheels like Francesco Moser (today also testimonial of Banca Mediolanum) thinks about explaining the difficulties of the day: «It is a fraction that can prove to be decisive. You climb Crocedomini immediately: 2000 meters of altitude that you will feel in your legs. And then Mortirolo and Santa Cristina, which in such a long stage can do a lot of harm. We will see who has the strength to break away from rivals, especially in terms of the general classification. In addition, the weather variable must be considered and the forecast announces bad weather. Cold and rain make for another mountain to climb for runners. The descents will also be fundamental, a situation that Nibali could exploit to his advantage, he who has already won at Aprica ».
The rivals’ attention will be focused on the leader of the Corsa Rosa, the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, who has a 7 “advantage over the Australian Jai Hindley. It will be a clash of giants but also of flagships. The Ineos against the Bora, and curiously in the team the sporting directors of both teams are Italian. Matteo Tosatto is one of the ds of the powerful Ineos, the team aiming for triumph with Carapaz, while Enrico Gasparotto leads the Bora, the team that has set a frenzied pace on the Superga climbs. in the Turin stage.
There is a lot of blue in the race: in fact 40 are the protagonists of cycling made in Italy (five have retired including Valerio Conti and Giacomo Nizzolo). And in fifth place in the general classification resists Domenico Pozzovivo, “the pianist”, interpreter of cultural preparation and intelligence applied to fatigue. In eighth place the monument of our movement, Vincenzo Nibali. On Mortirolo the wait is also for Giulio Ciccone who won in 2019 on a cold and difficult day.
The Giro, which started with the headlights off, was able to revive itself along the way. And perhaps all this was possible precisely because of the lack of the big names Pogacar and Roglic who would have monopolized the race. The Aprica stage will not reveal the name of who is destined to win the Giro, but it will certainly reveal who has already lost it. Carapaz says: «Compared to 2019 (the year of its success) I am more mature. I feel better and have more confidence in my means. In recent years I have improved a lot, I think I have learned to face and read the race better by now, I really think this is an advantageous element for me ». For the Ecuadorian, the most formidable opponents are «Almeida, Landa and Hindley». «They are – points out the captain of the Ineos – the most serious candidates for the final victory. We have been waiting for a very busy week, I think they are the opponents to watch out for ».