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Wednesday, May 17, 2023
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2022 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia
That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. - Aldous Huxley
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- May 6 - 29: Giro d'Italia
- May 16 - 21: 4 Jours du Dunkerque
Upcoming racing:
- May 20: Veenendaal - Veenendaal Classic
Latest completed racing:
- May 7: Tro-Bro Léon
- May 6: GP du Morbihan
- May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt
- April 25 - 30: Tour de Romandie
- April 28 - 30: Vuelta Asturias
- April 23: Liege-Bastogne-Liege
- April 17 - 21: Tour of the Alps
- April 19: La Fleche Wallone
We posted the report from GC leader Geraint Thomas' Team INEOS Grenadiers with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Magnus Cort Nielsen's Team EF Education-EasyPost:
After a heroic breakaway on icy, rain-slicked roads, Magnus sprinted to his first Giro d’Italia stage win and joined the club of riders who have won stages in all three grand tours.
“I’m incredibly happy about the win,” Magnus said afterward. “Today was such a hard day. It was one of the hardest stages I’ve done on a bike. To end up with a win is unbelievable.”
Magnus wanted this one for years.
Magnus Cort Nielsen gets his Giro d'Italia stage win. Sirotti photo
This morning, he rode off into the cold and wet, knowing that today was his chance to complete his collection of grand tour stage wins. He had six at the Vuelta and two at the Tour de France, but a victory at the Giro d’Italia had so far eluded him.
Weather wasn’t going to stop Magnus. It was three degrees and raining at the top of the Passo delle Radici, the high point of the stage, which crossed from Scandiano, in Emilia-Romagna, over the Tuscan Appenines to Viareggio on the Tyrrenhian coast. The organizers had considered shortening the race to spare the peloton from such foul conditions. Magnus was undaunted. He wanted his victory.
On the early slopes of the Radici, he rode across to the break, barely able to see them through the downpour. By the summit, they were a group of four with over five minutes. As the sprinters left in the peloton tried to organize a chase, Magnus and his companions pushed on and tried to stay off the brakes in the freezing wet corners.
“We were just pushing all day,” Magnus said. “First, it was a big fight to get in the breakaway. Secondly, we wanted to push to the summit of today’s stage to see if we could break the peloton and make the sprinters stop chasing. We got a bit of a time gap, but not enough, so they kept chasing us. Sitting with four and then three guys and pretty much going with all we had for four or five hours—it was a very, very tough day.”
Magnus’s sports director and friend Matti Breschel just tried to stay calm back in the team car. With 30 kilometers to go, the peloton had brought down the gap to less than two minutes. Matti knew that Magnus had a very good shot of winning if they made it to the line. He also knew what the win would mean to Magnus.
“It’s a bit of Danish history,” Matti said afterwards. “Jesper Skibby was there alone, solo, on the throne for I don’t know how many years. Mads Pedersen joined him this Giro, and now it’s Magnus. It’s something he’s been aiming for for the last few years. We knew that if Magnus just got in that breakaway—obviously it was a huge effort for him—but with his sprinter capacity, he’s fast on the line. We were crossing our fingers.”
Magnus wasn’t going to leave it to luck. He raced the final kilometers perfectly, first closing down his opponents’ attacks and then letting them lead out the sprint, before blasting past them on the seaside promenade in Viareggio.
There was one heck of a smile under his mustache when he crossed the finish line.
Tillykke, Magnus Cort!
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Here's the Giro report from second-place Derek Gee's Team Israel-Premier Tech:
There is no stopping Derek Gee in this year’s Giro d’Italia. Israel – Premier Tech’s Canadian neo-pro powered to another podium place in the Giro d’Italia after an incredibly hard day on stage 10.
“I think it’s going to take a while for it to sink in what I did out there today but I’m really happy with my race”, Gee said with a smile of both happiness and exhaustion after the stage.
Derek Gee finishes second. Sirotti photo
With heavy rain already from the morning and cold temperatures forecast on the climbs looming in the distance, Tuesday’s stage was always going to be a tough day in the saddle for the riders.
However, despite the challenges ahead, Gee was ready to attack right from the beginning of the stage and, after a strong fight, he finally got away together with former teammate Alessandro De Marchi (Team Jayco AlUla). Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) later joined the duo and the small group managed to build up a gap of nearly five minutes on the peloton.
Towards the end, the gap came tumbling down but Gee, De Marchi and Cort were not going to give up that easily and despite only having 45 seconds with 10 km left to go, they kept on pushing hard. Against all odds, they managed to defeat the chasing peloton and in the final kilometers, they could start focusing on playing for the stage win.
“It was touch and go for a while out there, not knowing if we would make it or not. For a long time, I didn’t think we had a shot. I actually can’t believe we made it at the end.”
Gee attacked with just over one kilometer to go but he was reeled in by Cort who then sprinted to victory, while IPT’s Grand Tour debutant took second place for the second time in his first Giro d’Italia.
“To be honest, this one hurts a little more [than the last second place] as I could really see the victory right there. I knew that Cort was faster than me and that I shouldn’t go up against him head-to-head. I tried a late attack but ultimately, I ended in a sprint against him anyway. The Giro is still long but I will try not to think about that right now as my legs really hurt after today!”
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Third-place Alessandro De Marchi's Team Jayco-AlUla sent me this Giro report:
Italian Alessandro De Marchi took a heroic third place after another epic long-range breakaway ride on stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia.
The Team Jayco-AlUla rider was one of the first attackers as he forced an early move of seven riders clear before pushing the pace in the group and dropping all but Derek Gee. The duo were eventually joined by Magnus Cort and stage seven winner Davide Bias, with the quartet working well together to extend their advantage out to a maximum of more than five minutes.
The treacherous conditions swung the stage in favour of the escapees as splits, crashes and mechanicals caused havoc back in the bunch on the wet descent, but with all the climbing completed, the fight for the stage victory remained in the balance.
Despite the numbers disadvantage, De Marchi and his breakaway companions continued to hold the chasing pack at bay and the deficit still hovered around the one-minute mark with 15km to go.
As the break raced under the 3km to go banner it was clear the remaining trio would stay away to fight for the stage win, with De Marchi determined to take it all the way to the line after his stage six heartbreak.
Up against two faster men in a three-up sprint, the 36-year-old launched his move in sight of the line, but the Italian was forced to settle for third place after another epic and mammoth breakaway ride. Meanwhile, Irishman Eddie Dunbar safely negotiated the stage to finish in the Maglia Rosa group and now climbs the general classification to ninth place after a chaotic day at the Giro d’Italia.
Alessandro De Marchi finishes third. Sirotti photo
Alessandro De Marchi - 3rd place:
"It was another really big day, a really hard one, especially because of the bad weather conditions, it made the race even harder, it was already tricky with the first 80km going uphill. The plan was to look for a breakaway, for a big group and we were ready from the start, me and Pöstlberger especially.
"I found the good move at the beginning of the first climb going into the hilly section of the stage and then it was about surviving on the climbs with the cold and rainy weather. Once we got to the top, we were all committed to keeping the pace high and playing our cards on the flat part in the last 50km.
"I was confident because both Gee and Cort were really strong, so I was confident that we could play for the result. In the end it went as expected because they are both really fast and with that kind of finish, flat and completely straight in the last 3km, it was really difficult to find the moment to surprise them.
"So there were not many other options in a finish like that other than to sprint with the legs I had. I am happy but also a bit disappointed because after a hard day like that you want to win, but we are still far away from Rome and there are plenty of opportunities. Now the goal is to recover, both physically and mentally, then be ready for the next opportunities."
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And here's the report from GC second-place Primoz Roglic's Team Jumbo-Visma:
Team Jumbo-Visma has come through the tenth stage of the Giro d'Italia in good shape. The day after the rest day, leader Primoz Roglic crossed the line in Viareggio without any problems. Early breakaway rider Magnus Cort Nielsen won the stage.
Primoz Roglic before the stage start. Sirotti photo
There was uncertainty about the start of the race. The organisation considered shortening the stage due to the harsh weather conditions. The peloton eventually braved the rain, wind and cold for the entire 196 kilometres from Scandiano to Viareggio.
With more than three thousand metres of climbing, the early stages were undoubtedly challenging. Along the way, some in the peloton slipped and slid due to the slippery road surface. Roglic was well-protected by his teammates, who kept the Slovenian out of the tumult. An early three-man break made it to the finish line, with Dane Cort Nielsen the fastest in the sprint.
"We have been lucky so far in this Giro", said Koen Bouwman, referring to the flu epidemic in the peloton. "Our whole team is doing well. Yesterday, on the rest day, we could recharge our batteries for the rest of the Giro. We obviously don't want to start in the rain again today, but everyone has to deal with these conditions. We are doing everything we can to stay healthy and in shape. There is still a lot to come in this race. I think it will be a nice and exciting battle. Our goal is still to be in Rome with the pink jersey."
Sports director Arthur van Dongen was very clear after the stage. "It was a hectic stage again. The race was very confusing because of all the crashes. The riders didn't have it easy in these difficult conditions. It certainly took its toll. It affected everyone. We can only be happy with our team's performance today. The men held up well. Primoz was well protected all day. That was the main objective", Van Dongen said.
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