The parallel race of Thomas and Roglic and the climbs of the third week: that’s why the Giro hasn’t exploded yet

Salò – “Sooner or later the Giro will explode,” he said Geraint Thomas in Bergamo. The Giro will have taken him at least over two weeks to do it, but it’s always better than nothing, the important thing is that he does it, and does it loudly. The complaints rained down on the group and above all on the big names in the standings, criticized for being too tactical. The time trials have made the difference so far. Better Roglic by Thomas (+12” for the Slovenian) in Ortona, better Thomas by Roglic (+16” for the Welsh) in Cesena. Roglic earned a 2″ bonus after a flying finish and thus explains Thomas’ 2″ advantage in the standings. It means that in all stages other than time trials, the two arrived in the same group. A marking not studied on the eve, of course, but born on the road and son of the withdrawals of Evenepoel, the true beacon of the race up to that moment, and of Tao Geoghegan Hart, who seemed to have more of them uphill than anyone else. A meticulous study of the second week of the race made by Raul Banqueri of Lanterne Rouge tells even better what happened between Scandiano and Bergamo, or rather what didn’t happen. If the Giro had started from the tenth stage, Gunrail now he would have 2’08” on Prodhomme, 5’42” on De Marchi, even 16’27” on Roglic and Thomas.

The ranking of the second 6 days of competition was made by the breakaways. There was only one bunch sprint in the second week (by the way, Mark Cavendish announced in tears his retirement from cycling at the end of the season), then men who fled in the first kilometers and never reached, for various conveniences, by the group of the strongest have always won. This created discontent: but when do Roglic and Thomas attack?

The escapes of the second week

The main reason is simple, almost trivial: even the Gran San Bernardo was lost due to bad weather and protests from the riders, the second week practically had no stages suitable for attacks by the big names. The Crans-Montana stage was not: the 20 km of flat between the Croix de Coeur and the beginning of the non-irresistible final climb did not favor the actions of men like Thomas and Roglic, two old-fashioned leaders, not too used to big shots (and headers), but extremely calculating. Even the stage in Bergamo did not stimulate their curiosity too much. Ineos has the virtual pink jersey and runs as it has always run. Jumbo has more men, Roglic seems to have more leg, but the Slovenian knows well what it means for him to run out of energy in the last days of a grand tour. It’s not fear, but administration of forces, in a Giro that has so far been extremely demanding due to external factors, such as rain, cold and Covid.

The third week

The third week, the one that has always decided the grand tours and also the Giro d’Italia of the last seven years is no exception, opens with the ascent of the Bondone. Then, after the easy stage in Caorle, the arrival in Val di Zoldo, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and the uphill time trial of Monte Lussari. Three terrible stages, which unbalance the Giro once again, making it intriguing, but only in the finale. Perhaps more balance would be needed: less concentration in the final days, more distribution along the way.

What makes cycling a sport different from others

Cycling is not just a performance sport. That is, it is not athletics or swimming. Cycling and grand tours are a more complex matter: there are dynamics, strategies, environmental factors, movements that cause others, like in a chess game where one wrong move can ruin months of work. We are getting used to it thanks to the Pogacars, the Evenepoels, the usual cycling: they attack when they feel like it. But the grand tours are won above all with patience and strategy. They are small wars often based on position and trenches, in which one bluffs, one pretends to be better or worse than one is to track the other down, to bring him out into the open. Even the “lent” pink jersey is another element of this psychological game: at one point Thomas preferred to leave it to Armirail as Evenepoel had done with Leknessund, to save the team and conserve nervous energy. Would anyone dream of doing it in the Tour with the yellow jersey? Maybe, but let’s ask ourselves why. It’s a matter of prestige but also of Uci scores, which are higher at the Grande Boucle. But even there, last year, apart from the wonderful Pogacar vs Jumbo saga, many times men on the run won. There is. And it’s not boring: it’s part of that huge world of possibilities we call “cycling”.