Senago—Milan, 30.3km ITT
The Final Stage 30km Time Trial action began early when Time Trail World Champion Filippo “Top” Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) rolled down the ramp early on in the stage. Yes, yes, for a time trial mid-Grand Tour, the start times are decided by a reverse of the General Classification (GC) standings. Top Ganna looked like the Top Gun Ace he is, he rode with all of that Shatterer of Pelotons speed. Truly, truly, amongst active riders there is no more beautiful time-trialist to watch. Surreally, on Ganna’s ride Bradley Wiggins, of British Tour pioneering and time-trialing fame, had joined the commentary team. Wiggins mused on how Ganna was a mix of his two favorite time-trialists to watch: Big Mig Miguel Indurain and Spartacus Fabain Cancellara—both in the top five greatest time-trialists of the past 30 years…and this was coming from Bradley Wiggins, also an Hour Record setter and top time trialist of his generation. Ah! But Ganna’s ride was marred in the last few kilometers when he had a rear wheel puncture, he had to switch bikes and then grind it out to the finish not in his pulverizing rhythm. Ganna came in with a time of 33:48 and averaged almost 54km/h despite the puncture. Yes, absolutely flying…like the F-16 flyers he is nicknamed after.
Top Ganna’s greatest challenger came in to finish about an hour later, the French Time Trial Champion Remi Cavagna the TGV of Clermont Ferrand (Deceuninck-Quickstep). Because of Ganna’s puncture, it was going to be close. With 3km to ride, Cavagna the TGV needed to finish in 3:17 to beat Ganna’s time—ah! ah! so finely balanced! The TGV flew and flew in those last kilometers in pursuit of the first Quickstep stage win of this Giro. Quickstep’s Natural Remco Evenepoel woefully abandoned the Giro earlier this week, their Almeida had fought valiantly for a mountain stage with his newfound freedom but it did not materialize, and Cavagna himself was defeated by Alberto Bettiol the Cowboy (EF Education-Nippo) on Stage 18. Ah! Cavagna was now desperate for this stage, it was his best chance to take a Grand Tour ITT stage thus far in his career…and he was on good form. Ah! But alas! In the final kilometer, Cavagna the TGV bullet train went off the rails. Surely, he must have reconned the course, but alas! he must have mixed-up his memory. Perhaps he was digging so deep, he could not think or even see straight, perhaps he thought it was a right turn and not a left, but for one of the final left-hand turns Cavagna had set up completely wrong. He managed to brake and soften the landing, but Cavagna the TGV faceplanted into the barriers on the opposite side of the road, because he was going way too fast to even attempt to correct the turn at the last second. He got up remarkably quickly and was off again, but alas! the damage was done. Remi Cavagna came in 12 seconds behind Top Ganna, it is very likely that crash was the entire time-losing margin. And with that, the TT was a subdued affair until the final GC Top Ten riders.
Alas! Quite a few stars of the early weeks of the race by this point had abandoned. Ultimately, this is why I lament and rail against the riders that abandon without race ending injuries. There was no last time to see and reminiscence with them again about their 2021 Giro exploits—what else are we to do for the final day time trial that is of little consequence for so many of the riders? I believe, the only sprinters of note to finish the race were Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) who collected the Ciclamino Points Jersey, tenacious Fernando Gaviria (UAE), solid Davide Cimolai (Isreal Start-Up Nation), and noble Elia Viviani (Cofidis). The latter three bravely rode out this harrowing Giro, despite not taking a stage win. The Giro had wreaked havoc and cruelly taken out many first time stage winners of this Giro.
The Top Ten on GC were literally the only guys left in the race that cared about GC in anyway: many others had sorrowfully abandoned long ago. There was some reshuffling that took place in the mid-section of the GC Top Ten. The better time-trialists gobbled up the climbers who just cannot do the best of efforts against the clock. Quickstep’s Joao Almeida and Lieutenant Dan-i Martinez the Grenadier both flew in the time trial today. Yes, yes, the same two that were dominating the climbs in the final week can put together good or great TTs as well. Both overhauled DSM’s Romain Bardet and EF’s Hugh Carthy to move up to 5th and 6th on GC. Almeida out rode Lieutenant Dan-i Martinez by some-50 seconds, but Martinez was higher up to begin the day and bet Almeida for 5th on GC by less than a second. 5th was a phenomenal result for Lieutenant Dan who ever was first and foremost at the beck-and-call of team duties to Bernal before his own result. And while Almeida will be disappointed he could not bring Quickstep a stage win, to rise to 6th on GC basically in the last week alone was also an amazing result. Astana’s Aleksandr Vlasov finished in a solid 4th this Giro, a great result for this young Russian. And coming into the time trial with little chance moving up or down in position, Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) finished 3rd on GC. It is his first Grand Tour podium since he won the Vuelta Overall in 2018, it is his best result at the Giro he has targeted for 4 years in a row now. Of course he would have liked to win, that was the original goal, but he finished the race with momentum and a respectable result. He should be happy with his efforts and use this result as a further building block for the next objective. And of course, when we look at the top two men Yates has lost to, there can be no cause for disappointment.
Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) crossed the finish line in the Piazza del Duomo of Milan the runner-up of the Giro d’Italia. Just as the heavy lifting of securing this achievement was done yesterday, so was the major chronicling of this most sentimental of accomplishments. The 33-year-old completed the fairytale to finish second of his home Grand Tour having come into the race to be a domestique for his crashed-out Bahrain leader Mikel Landa. Throughout the whole race, he knew this was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only did this old veteran Caruso savor every minute of it—even on the Zoncolan—he gave it everything and made the most of his opportunity. Even on the penultimate day, he did not simply defensively ride to protect his podium spot, he took risks on the descents and climbed his heart out to get within spitting distance of the Pink Jersey. This he did not achieve, but he walked away with a beloved stage win and a firm grip on his second place. As he rode across the line today, he gave just a simple thumbs up and deep sigh of relief. There was never anything flashy about him all race, no pomp, no indulgent grandeur. All he did for today was shave his triple five o’clock shadow and put on a smile from ear to ear that not even a COVID mask could hide. For the entire race he has kept a level of unassuming humility, which is why we have all taken a great liking to him. That, and the fact that in every single interview, in every single action shot of his face we could see his determination amidst having the most surreal experience of his life. Damiano Caruso’s Giro was more than just a well-measured and even heroic effort, it was bigger than cycling. It was a charming and courageous story of hope and determination that produced the most unexpected time of his life. It is one he shall tell his grandkids about by the fire. It is one we shall tell our grandkids about, because we had such a surreal and romantic time ourselves willing him on. And as a last personal note: finally, finally, I will never again confuse Maglia Rosa wearer Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) and podium finisher Damiano Caruso.
Though Caruso put 30 seconds into him on today’s TT, the Pink Jersey, the Maglia Rosa was never under threat on this final stage. The Final Day Time Trial served as a lap of honor for the winner of the Giro d’Italia: Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers). Egan Bernal, the great Hunter, the out rider of chainsaws, the Crown Jewel of Colombian cycling, is back to the top of the sport with this victory. After a lackluster 2020, people were even doubting if his 2019 Tour win was valid due to the abbreviated stages. We wondered if his back problems would plague him, we wondered if he could coop with the pressure of riding with the full weight of the Colombian nation on his back. Over the course of these three weeks, Bernal rose to the occasion, answered all the questions, and he has never looked better. In the first two weeks of this race, in unbridled style he attacked up mountains and across gravel for all the time he could find; and he looked impervious. In the final week, whether back problems flared up, or it was just expected fatigue, vulnerability showed, but thanks to his strong Grenadier squad—Puccio, Moscon, Narvaez, Castroviejo, Ganna, and especially Lieutenant Dan—Bernal was able to hold onto his advantage for the time-hunting heavy-lifting was already completed. It is rewarding to see a strong Grand Tour winning team celebrate on the final day—like Caruso’s story, that, in its own way, is bigger than cycling. To achieve teamwork as cohesive as the Ineos Grenadiers should be a lifetime goal for all with their families, friends, coworkers, and communities. Though only Egan Bernal gets to wear the Maglia Rosa and lift the Infinite Trophy, they are not his achievement alone. But there we did see Egan in Pink, smiling and posing with the spiraling and never-ending trophy. As the cameras flashed and snapped their photos, we all understood Egan Bernal was announcing his return to the top of the sport: all challengers hear him roar, even a certain pair of Slovenians who shall wage war in France in one month’s time. It will be a surprise if Bernal goes to the Tour this year. This was a big effort, the Grenadiers have a deep well of resources. Bernal should savor this victory, perhaps build up to the Vuelta, or even have fun targeting smaller objectives this season with little pressure—perhaps we could see him in an end-of-season Paris-Roubaix where he can afford to risk crashing before the off-season. All of this is already much too far in the future though: today, tonight, tomorrow, for the next month, he should take things easy and celebrate this accomplishment. Egan Bernal has conquered Italy’s greatest race in grand style, and it was awesome to see.
And with that, it is time to wrap up this Giro d’Italia. Ah! But this is where it becomes hard, because we have seen so much over these three weeks. Let us for posterity’s sake make a tradition of taking one last look at it all, before much of it fades from our memories. Let us walk down memory lane and recall all of what we saw this Giro. We saw a Top Gun Ace and pulverize an Opening Time Trial. We realized the Po Valley is the Nebraska of Italy. Shampoo sponsors got their money’s worth. We saw hard shell Tacos foil a Band of Brothers. We realized “A joy it will be one day, perhaps, to remember even this.” We saw heartbreaking crashes before GC campaigns even really got going—a Moonraker, and a rider who ever wishes to be free, and a champion in Blue from the day before. We saw Pocket-Rockets do what they are best at, while Italians and a European champion were close but no cigars. We saw fallen leaders avenged quickly by their teammates from mountain breakaways that narrowly stayed away. We learned how much precipitation Italy can take in—but the weather did not stop the Top Gun from shattering pelotons. We saw a Colombian sprinter launch early both in the sprints and on mountain breakaway descents—fearless to take a win anyway he could. We saw smaller riders make their names, we saw cheeks as rosy-red as Dawn and her fingers. We saw Attila the Hun who is Hungarian do his country proud. We saw Great Hunters catch breakaways like those with their hounds and horses on Boxing Day. We saw a Strade podium finisher ride out of a long tunnel to unleash his greatest MVDP impression on a steep gravel service road. We saw the Rockstar careen around the last corner with the most speed after the Band of Brothers ripped up a profile that looked too soft. We saw the peloton do battle on dusty gravel that invoked the chaos of Mad Max’s Fury Road. We saw the Pink Jersey and his Top Gun domestique blaze across the loose choking dust, and even the Rockstar in the Ciclamino Jersey was at pains to keep pace. We saw Tuscany sunny and beautiful, O! but it really was the Hardest Race in the Most Beautiful place. We saw a Kiwi and an Italian take the collective worst choice in the Prisoners’ Dilemma. We paid homage to the greatest of Italian poets, truly his works are a world treasure, and our love for him is Divinely Comedic. We saw a too long streak of 2nd places snapped by victory. We saw the riders climb the back side of a Misty Mountain, goblins lurked in the subterrain, a hotel gateway served as an entrance to Hell on earth with many ramps over 20%. We saw Fortunate ones make their name as their boss did before, and we saw a great one in Pink glow against the white snow. We crossed a border where the Iron Curtain is no more, the hottest names in Grand Tours hail from that now cycling mad land. We saw heartwarming winners in often the coldest of conditions. We saw a myth come to life in real time, despite that we actually saw very little of it. We saw race leaders out ride chainsaws. We saw modern pedaleur de charmes. We saw or imagined daring descents. We saw wily veterans seize their one chance. We saw abandon after abandon, this Giro was a proper war of attrition. We saw sprinters drop out like flies. We saw some of the hottest names in cycling humbled. We saw riders having the race of their lives lose it all in heartbreaking crashes. We saw no one was impervious, all showed vulnerability. We saw Quicksteppers and BikeExchangers give breakaways no hope—besides one Herculean Irishman, of course. We saw a Lieutenant exhort his team leader like the roadside tifosi in the leader’s darkest moment. We saw the cycling-mad tifosi refreshingly out in proper force for the first time since the pandemic began. We saw a Cowboy ride down and rope a TGV bullet train. We saw momentum swing like a pendulum to a Brit not in the Ineos outfit. We saw a Portuguese rider yoyo like no other, and still put time into many at the very top of the great climbs. We saw a Lieutenant be a loyal Sam, despite having descending troubles. We saw grand master moves on descents of Swiss passes surrounded by frozen glaciers in which thousands of hairpins weaved. We saw Grenadiers keep their cool and work together. We saw fairytale heroes ride to win, not conservatively settling but seizing their one chance and have the ride of their lives. We saw heartwarming gestures to domestique teams that imparted a career’s worth of gratitude. We saw a TGV fly off the rails. We saw the Top Gun pull off the book-end stage win, despite a flat. We saw a new name inscribed on the trophy. And we saw a humble old veteran uncontrollably melt our hearts.
And with all of that said, we take a deep breath to think it is now all finished. It is now time to depart from Italy and snap back into reality. Another Grand Tour, another three-week lifestyle change is complete. Another great story has been seen, told, and experienced by not just those traveling with the race, but every plugged-in fan around the globe. Italy, Italy, despite often soaking conditions this year, once again you were the beautiful backdrop for the Hardest Race that has produced heart-melting memories to long be cherished. We shed a tear, we touch our hearts, and we blow a goodbye kiss to you. This Giro is over, we shall shiver to remember its weather, but our hearts will ever be warmed and comforted when we remember what many riders achieved this year.
Cycling Odysseys 