Tour of Italy. Enrico Pirondini’s comment. Departure with a bang. Exciting. Italian double: first Ganna, second Affini. The nine kilometers of the Turin time trial were dominated by the Azzurri who flew at crazy speeds: 58.7 the giant from Verbania, first pink jersey of the 104th edition. Third was the Norwegian Tobias Foss. Fourth Almeida, fifth the French Cavagna. Disappointing Everopoel. Well Vlasov, a surprise. Gianni Moscon 10th.
Vincenzo Nibali also did well, recovering from an accident (broken wrist). He defended himself well. He paid just 2 “from Bernal and 3” from Yates. . He said he won’t give up that easily. In seventh heaven Filippo Ganna: “I know, I wasn’t starting as a super favorite. I didn’t do well at the Tour of Romandie, I finished with weighted legs. Here in Turin I presented myself calm and confident. I was keen on this victory, this pink jersey ”. Sportivissimo Affinini: “In front of such a champion there is only one thing to do: take off your hat”. The Giro is long and hard: 21 stages, 3,479 kilometers, eight uphill finishes, 47,000 meters in altitude.
Sunday 9 stage for sprinters. A gallop of 179 kilometers and the first GPM of the Giro d’Italia. It is in the small town of Montechiaro d’Asti famous because the great-grandfather of Pope Francis and the grandmother of San Giovanni Bosco, the founder of the Salesian Congregation, were born here. Ganna will also wear a tricolor dorsal – baptized in Turin. A white-red-green stripe to distinguish the stage winner.