Giro d'Italia, Frenchman Prodhomme wins in Champoluc
Del Toro always leader. It is decided at Sestriere
3' min read
3' min read
Nothing new on the Giro d'Italia front. The Champoluc stage, so feared and so eagerly awaited for its five Grand Prix of the mountains (5,000 metres of altitude difference), changes little or nothing in the picture.
On the contrary, it is still the pink jersey of Isaac Del Toro, the Speedy Gonzales of the Giro, who not only controls his not irresistible rivals but, in the end, beating Carapaz in the sprint for second place, gains further precious seconds on the Ecuadorian and all the other classification rivals,
That they just have to be self-critical and declare themselves defeated. Both for the lack of courage shown and for the irritating and unjustifiable resignation. Apart from Carapaz, who sprinted six kilometres from the finish, the others did not move a finger. Never a flicker. All lined up like a flock of sheep waiting for the call of the shepherd.
It's fine that the heat suddenly broke out, it's fine that the pink jersey was able to count on the perfect support of a team (the Uae) always in control of the big group. But the regret remains for the missed opportunity. They could have fired a cannon shot, but instead it came out a feeble pernacchietta that postpones the final verdict to the penultimate stage at Sestriere.
Only this day, with the dreaded Colle delle Finestre, a 19-kilometre bogeyman with a gradient of 9.3% and the last nine of gravel, can overturn a classification that sees the Mexican firmly in the lead with 43 seconds on Richard Carapaz and 1 minute 23 seconds on Simone Yates, the eternal stall-keeper.
