Julian Alaphilippe may have broken his near three-year Grand tour stage win drought with the stage 12 Giro d’Italia victory but the Frenchman is clearly not done yet, with even the miserable conditions not enough to deter him from going out early in pursuit of victory again on stage 16.
Alaphilippe broke away at less than 30km into the 120km day of racing – shortened by the weather-induced removal of the Umbrail Pass. First he was out front with Davide Ballerini (Astana Qazaqstan), Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-EasyPost), and Mirco Maestri (Polti-Kometa), then he went it alone with 30km to go, off in pursuit of a second win at his debut Giro.
“It was a crazy day, with the route change because of the weather, and the full gas tempo from the start all the way to the finish,” said Alaphilippe.
Movistar slowly dragged the lone leader closer as the gradients increased but still he held out through to the lower slopes of the final climb, Monte Pana. Alaphilippe was then caught by a chasing trio of Giulio Pellizzarri (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Cristian Scaroni (Astana Qazaqstan) with just over 5km to go, holding in and rolling turns with the front group till it was clear he could no more.
“I rode on my instinct and I can be happy with the way I gave my best,” said Alaphilippe in a team statement.
Even when he had to cede his position in the front group, at around 2.5km to go, he then gave what little he had left to try and assist his break companions, delivering one final hard turn at the front before he drifted back through the field.
“I’d like to thank Julian Alaphilippe, who supported me and gave me a last stint when he was ‘dead’. He’s an immense champion,” said the appreciative 21-year-old French rider Costiou, who ended up finishing ninth after race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) led a charge from behind.
Alaphilippe had clearly given everything with that final effort, dropping to 29th by the finish line. Still, while that turn may have been his last moment at the front of the race for the day, chances are it won't be his last at the race, with the rider clearly buoyed by his return to the top.
“Towards the end I was tired, but I kept pushing and believing in my chances. I have no regrets as I’ve really enjoyed the stage,” said Alaphilippe. “The shape is good, the atmosphere is great in the team and the confidence is there, so we will keep trying again in the next stages.”
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