Soudal Quick-Step’s Frenchman went again on the offensive and raced his heart out on the most draining stage of the race so far.
Julian Alaphilippe braved the tough weather conditions and dazzled again while leaving his mark for the umpteenth time on a Giro d’Italia stage, one that had to be shortened due to the snow, wet roads and low temperatures which forced the organisers to take out the Umbrail Pass and come up with a different start location, in Lasa, instead of Livigno.
When the race got underway a couple of hours later, attacks came in waves, but the first moves were easily reeled in. It was only with 90 kilometers to go that a breakaway formed, when Alaphilippe went clear on the roads of the Sud Tyrol region together with three other riders, including Mirco Maestri (Polti Kometa), the Italian with whom he was on the attack also last week, when he soloed to a memorable victory.
The horrible conditions accompanied the quartet as they headed to Bolzano – the setting of Sandor Marai’s 1940 novel “Casanova in Bolzano” – but the four did a great job and this helped their gap go out to two minutes, despite some fierce chasing from behind. Julian attacked away from his fellow escapees on the 23.3km-long Passo Pinei, in a moment the advantage was down to a minute, but the two-time World Champion somehow managed to add 40 seconds to his buffer, thanks to an incredible effort despite the temperatures continuing to drop.
The embodiment of grinta and panache, Alaphilippe summited the top of the climb with a 20-second gap on a three-man chasing group which eventually linked up with him on the last ascent of the day, Monte Pana. Staying true to his nature, Julian gritted his teeth and took some generous turns at the front before finally dropping back with two kilometers to go. The remaining riders were eventually caught by race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), who went on to take the win, while Jan Hirt arrived less than a minute later and maintained his place in the general classification top ten.
“It was a crazy day, with the route change because of the weather, and the full gas tempo from the start all the way to the finish. The weather didn’t make it easy, but Specialized’s rain tyres have lots of grip in these conditions. I rode on my instinct and I can be happy with the way I gave my best.”
“It was cold today, but I had my Castelli clothing to keep me warm and dry, which helped me stay in the lead so deep into the stage. Towards the end I was tired, but I kept pushing and believing in my chances. I have no regrets as I’ve really enjoyed the stage. The shape is good, the atmosphere is great in the team and the confidence is there, so we will keep trying again in the next stages”, said Julian, who also took to the podium to receive the day’s Intergiro award.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
