“The Giro is the most beautiful race in the most beautiful country in the world. This year I would love to win a stage.”
Yet it was clearly not enough for Alberto Bettiol to simply be a stage winner. This is his home country after all. He was victorious in the most unforgettable way possible.
“It’s really special to win a stage like this. It feels like the Tour of Flanders years ago,” said Bettiol.
It was a promising start for the Italian pro who joined the breakaway group that quickly set an unforgiving pace. “We had to first make the breakaway. Then for Bettiol in the break, it was all about him trying to drop everybody,” said Sport Director Matti Breschel.
Things did look concerning though at one point when he stopped for a rear wheel change, yet everyone from the mechanics to Bettiol seemed calm and collected in what’s a typically stressful situation. Almost like they knew something we didn’t.
Clearly, something was in the works.
Bettiol and the breakaway group would eventually gain a whopping 20 minutes over the rest of the peloton. All of this effort is made even more impressive considering his strenuous efforts in helping Hugh Carthy yesterday. Somehow his legs looked fresh and his energy high.
“The team was in good spirit and today I had this great opportunity to go into the breakaway and try for the win,” said Bettiol.
As the race progressed, one could immediately gather that the Italian pro was operating on a different level than the rest of the group. Nico Roche joined him with 10 kilometers to go and gave it his best efforts, and it looked at one point like Cavagna (DQT) might take the stage win.
But in the end, Bettiol’s dedication and commitment to winning today in Stradella was unmatched.
“We are filled with joy and adrenaline,” said Breschel. “He’s such an incredible bike rider.”
In addition to his world-class riding skills, Bettiol is a unique personality on the team. One of his most admired traits (besides his good humor) is the support he’s constantly providing to his teammates. Today was his biggest stage win to date, and Bettiol was already thinking about how the team would support Hugh Carthy in the next stages.
“We will enjoy the victory for a few hours and then we will focus on Hugh,” said Bettiol.
“Everything went according to plan today. In cycling, it’s incredibly hard to do that but today was one of those days,” said Breschel.
Here’s to the rest of the Giro and congrats to the team on a perfectly executed day.
