There are only sixteen kilometers left in the Giro d’Italia 2020. After today’s final day in the mountains, climbing to Sestriere three times, tomorrow’s ITT is a sinecure for some, and serious business for others.
Our individual time trial specialists Matthias Brändle and Alex Dowsett, tried to save up as much energy as possible today, to have a final crack tomorrow. Davide Cimolai, who does not have too many ambitions for the final stage in the Giro decided to enjoy some time in the breakaway, and Guy Sagiv comfortably rode to the ‘finish’ of his second Grand Tour.
Cimo said after a day as an escapee that he felt strong. “I knew I would not be able to contest the victory in a long climbing stage like this, but I did feel like I wanted to show Israel Start-Up Nation’s colors once again this Giro. It was nice to be in the breakaway and not have to stress at all about finishing within the time limit.”
Sagiv obviously suffered from a crash early in the 21-day-stage-race. Even though the race is not over yet, he was able to recap on his second Grand Tour. “The injuries did not make life easier, no. Apart from the road rash, abrasions and injured finger, my ribs hurt quite a bit.”
He does think that his first Grand Tour, the 2018 Giro d’Italia, was more of a challenge than this year’s. “I think I got stronger in the last two years. Also, having the experience from an earlier Grand Tour allowed me to divide my energy more accurately throughout these three weeks of racing.”
The Israeli road race champion is proud that he will make it to the finish line in Milan, but is also a little bit disappointed. “I could not race in the way that I hoped to race this Giro, due to those injuries. I expected more from myself.”
