Pogacar does not win and cycling sinks, or so it seems. He arrives at the start of the Giro d’Italia, on the outskirts of Turin, with seven victories in 10 days of competition and Tadej has the great weight of the jersey pink, as if he had to wear it on duty, even if it was his first time. He doesn’t care, he smiles calmly as he almost always does. It’s the rest who say things like, “let’s see what we can do,” and take the second part of the phrase for granted: “behind Pogacar.” He does not win and the analyzes begin on his legs, on his team, on his mentality, on his preparation. What if he is good, what if he is bad. And that is third in the finish line. And he was the one who set the guidelines.
The Giro around Turin begins, which is no longer so much this time about the Agnelli of Juve, but about the memories of the depressed Torino. It is exactly 75 years since the Superga tragedy, on May 4, 1949, in which 31 people died, 18 soccer players among them, and the race circulates, as a tribute, a few steps from the basilica in which the plane in which they were traveling.
The route that borders the Po and the capital of Piedmont is the scene of a play that represents only Pogacar surrounded by extras. Everyone is waiting for the Slovenian phenomenon to start reciting his script. As always, there are skirmishes, attempts that are nothing more than promising, like that of Ghebreigzabhier and Calmejane, who understand, when the last kilometers arrive, that they are only there to encourage the fans, to warm their throats for when Pogacar approaches with his entourage.
It is in Maddalene, when the UAE lines up, as Matxin anticipated at the bus meeting a few hours before, and all the Pogacar domestics take turns to increase the pace. Mikkel Berg is the most persistent. He milks his body to develop 480 watts that are enough to take down half a platoon. When he can’t take it anymore, he is the one who gets off the hook. Rafal Majka has already taken his number to ask for his turn in front of his leader, who does not see it clearly. There is no one in the peloton, who follows him with his tongue hanging out, who does not expect the usual blow from the champion, but he does not arrive. The kilometers to the top climb, and Pogacar prefers to wait. Speculation begins, whispering among analysts. What if he is there, what if he is not there.
Speculation about relegation resumes and doubts increase, what if the legs, what if the mentality, what if the preparation, because the most seasoned of the group stretch ahead and take advantage. Tadej, at the back of the platoon, fuels the rumors, the whispers. But if he doesn’t have a plan for the final kilometers, he improvises it, how good he is. He has one last chance at the wall of St. Vitus, and that is where he dances. Four kilometers from the finish, with a thousand meters of very hard ascent ahead, he begins to smash his pedals, and he does not cause astonishment in the group because everyone knows him.
They are simply left behind, powerless before the majestic power of the cyclist touched by a magic wand, as his coach Javier Sola says. Only Jonnhy Narváez, the Ecuadorian cyclist from El Playón in San Francisco, enrolled in Ineos, can stand him. A few meters away, Max Schachmann, the stubborn Berliner from Bora, is writhing, determined to reach the head. He does it on the descent towards the goal. A lethal trio on the way to the first pink jersey. Some illustrious ones, such as Bardet, Nairo Quintana or Arensman, are already ruled out. Geraint Thomas resists.
At the finish, Pogacar is too ambitious and throws the packaging from too far away. Narváez is more patient and endures him to surpass him at the finish line. “Following the best in the world on the climb was very difficult, so it is a special victory,” comments the first leader of the race. “Everything hurts. “It was very, very, very difficult, but I did it.” Schachmann also surpasses the champion in the last meter. Enough to trigger the rumors, the comments, which will dissipate, or will be triggered with the second stage that ends in the Oropa Sanctuary, 11.8 kilometers of ascent at 6.2% average slope, with maximum ramps of 14%. It was there where Pantani wrote one of his last beautiful pages in the 1999 Giro, when he suffered a puncture at the beginning of the climb and had to overcome the entire peloton to win alone. The bells of the Sanctuary rang for him, like six years before for Miguel Indurain, Ugrumov’s relentless pursuer, who could not take the pink from him despite his efforts.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes in Facebook and xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#Ecuadorian #Narváez #snatches #pink #Pogacar
