What a thrilling finish stage to a - so far -
thrilling Giro d'Italia. The climb to Pian dei Resinelli was like a
thriller in which you almost knew for certain who the killer was, but
you had to wait for the final page in order to find
out. And as you reached that final page, a sudden and unexpected result
seemed looming.. With 800m to go Joaquim Rodriguez managed to claw his
way to the head of the race and pass the lone breakaway rider, Matteo
Rabottini, who had been away for 150km, and
was busy trying to hold on for the final km of his breakaway. 60
million italians at that moment willed their rider onwards, and as if by
some magic psycokinesis, the Italian rider moved his chain down a few sprockets
and clung to Rodriguez's wheelfor a few more hundred
metres and then in the final 150m managed to go round him, first trying
left, but closed off made a concerted effort around the right and
managed to pull away by a bikelength before plunging for the line. His
elation, and that of 60 million other Italians,
and possibly hundreds of millions of cyclists tuned in from all over
the world, was palpable. Even I and my two young children, aged 3 and 5,
jumped and danced and made merry with the victory. I suspect that even
Spanish viewers might have willed the lone Italian
on, such is the desire for the underdog breakaway to make it to the
line, no matter what his nationality. It's the fight of the one against
the many, the individual against the team, the spirit against the
science that says that a peloton will catch the breakaway
and power to the line. I have no doubt in my mind that Joaquim
Rodriquez kept this image and desire alive by not fighting 100% for the
line, safe in the knowledge that he had done enough to win another
battle in the war for the Pink Jersey. His tortured face at the end though may actually point to another reality, that HIS attack up the mountain had come at tremendous cost.
Cycling is a sport
about giving as much as taking, and in not taking the victory he has
given one to Italy, and possibly shored up his own bank-account in the
future stages to come, where Farnese Vini may do him a good turn or
two.
There was beauty in today's stage when courage,
determination and stoicism in the face of bad luck (a fall 18km from the
end of the stage appeared to be Matteo's undoing) saw the winning rider
to the line. These stages make you believe
in the purity and beauty of cycling, the world's hardest sport where
riders must battle years of tough cycling, abominable conditions, race
injuries and often the necessity of giving up their chances for their
own team-mates, so that they may eventually get
a chance at winning a stage. Many don't succeed in the big leagues,
but sometimes a lone break does make it, and seems to make cycling
worth-while again.. Rambo, as he is now know, has given us a sparkling moment for road cycling!
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