Bad luck knocked Wiggins out of game
This is what real cycling is all about, this is what people are expecting from this sport. Vincenzo Nibali goes clear on an a brand-new climb, Sega di Ala, pushed by the fans cheering on the roadsides, and takes a juge solo win and the overall title, for the second time in his career after 2008. The Italian stage race celebrates its success on a perfect day: sun, plenty of fans, a real climb and top-notch riders to make the show.
Nibali is the rightful and deserved winner of the 37th edition, arguably the biggest and most exciting ever, with an outstanding media resonance all over the World. Bradley Wiggins was the great defeated of the day, after having to deal with a gear issue with 7 km to go, on the moment when Nibali was lighting up the race along with his faithfuls, Tiralongo and Aru in first place. The dramatic image of Sir Wiggins throwing his bike to the roadside after losing a great chance shows how much he cared about winning here in Trentino.
Trentino projects Vincenzo Nibali to the Giro d’Italia with a favorite role: “Winning on a climb like this is the biggest thing for me right now. There is still a couple of weeks to the Giro, and Wiggins remains my main rival, but I saw both Evans and Basso in clear progression. As for myself, I am very glad to rely on a strong team, that hasn’t made a mistake in tactical terms both here and at Tirreno-Adriatico. When asked about Sunday’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Vincenzo confesses: “Today I spent a lot of energy, and I got a number of strong rivals. We will see.”
Nibali unleashed his first attack at 6 km to go, taking along Mauro Santambrogio before eventually dropping him in the final 2000 metres, when he put on a higher gear. Santambrogio still roundes out a great Trentino taking the runner-up spot both to the line (ahead of Niemiec) and on the final podium (completed in third by overnight leader Maxime Bouet, who was forced to give up despite a gutty effort).
In a Giro d’Italia perspective, Cadel Evans comes out of Trentino in higher spirit, as does (in minor terms) Ivan Basso. The same can’t be said about Franco Pellizotti and Michele Scarponi. Youngsters are the other good news of this Trentino: Fabio Aru and Stefano Locatelli, both in the overall top-10 (4th and 9th respectively) got the talent to do good things in the future. Appearently, Italian cycling has just woken up in Trentino. It was about time.
