The 2019 Giro d’Italia has now come to a close, so the Twitterstream has been trawled for some pink tweets for the last time this season. We have the new champion and reactions from and about the final podium; we have the feel-good stories of the week with Esteban Chaves and Chad Haga; there’s a possible aftermath of the Lopez Goes Bonkers episode and Adam Hansen shares his vegan treats (not a euphemism). Plus much much more …
The new champion
Richard Carapaz rode a brilliant race, supported so ably by his Movistar team. It can’t be underestimated how much it means to a rider to win a Grand Tour, particularly if he’s the first in his nation’s history to do it.
Sometimes, it’s just that simple
Universally cheered by cycling fans everywhere.
I would find it hard to disagree with any of those.
From the others
His Nibs might not have taken his third Giro title but he certainly raced like he meant it. Next, KOM jersey in Paris? I think he might need to get through Julian Alaphilippe first, but what a ding-dong battle that would be!
From red-hot favourite going into the Giro to just getting onto the podium on the last day, Primoz Roglic has a lot to consider about this year’s Giro – and no doubt the experience will make him that much tougher for the next GT.
But you can’t help but feel for Mikel Landa, who was on the podium overnight and lost it by 8sec on the final day. Will the stars ever align for him to win a GT?
One of my riders of the entire race, Giulio Ciccone, with his maglia azzurra and trophy. Trek-Segafredo can be proud of the Giro they raced this year, including a top 5 final place for Bauke Mollema.
Always a Pedaleur de Charme.
Unapologetic delight for Chavito
While not universal (there’s always one), the solo stage win by Esteban Chaves on Friday was greeted by 99.9% of fans with glee and unabashed love for the Colombian rider. And why not? Always respectful, always with the biggest smile (even King Kelly mentioned ‘he always has such a bright smile on his face’), coming back from adversity, his team keeping the faith … there’s always room to celebrate those feel-good stories in the sport.
He took second in Stage 17, which was just as emotional (if not more) than when he won Stage 19.
But attack attack attack was the name of the game on Friday. And it paid off.
Another constant Pedaleur de Charme
Lopez meltdown … it might not be over
We’ve all seen the footage from Stage 20 a million times now (I’ve counted). Fool is running on the road, gets knocked into the riders, Miguel Angel Lopez goes down, Lopez reacts very badly and strikes out. Funnily enough, I was talking to a friend about this on Sunday evening – the fact that Roglic got a time penalty for not doing enough to make fans stop pushing him on the climb and that Lopez didn’t get any kind of penalty, whether it be DQ, time penalty or a fine, when what he did was clearly against the rules and much more serious. We’ll see how this one plays out but I can’t see why Lopez didn’t get any kind of punishment for that, no matter how justified people thought it might have been.
If you’re not going to sanction him, shouldn’t he then be getting some time back? At least be consistent about something!
Lotto-Soudal corner
So what would a vegan pro cyclist eat on a Grand Tour? Adam Hansen‘s got you covered
A few words from that fresh-faced Tom Wellens
And I’m just going to tack on a little QuickStep news …
Get me the big loofah mitt!
Terrified that the rumours were true about Julian Alaphilippe going to Direct Energie next year, this was a huge sigh of relief for me. Not sure I would have let Lefevre get so familiar but …
The Gruppetto
It was an Ag2r win in the last week … and it was champers all round
Any decent reference to Star Wars (especially when Luke and Han were pups) gets a place in Tweets of the Week.
No, this wasn’t a euphemism
Prepping for the Tour, no doubt
One of the brightest spots of this year’s Giro – Orla’s show on Eurosport. Looking forward to the Tour with her at the helm
And while I hate to admit it, I really liked Bradley Wiggins on the programme, but there were definitely some eye-rolling, pot-kettle-black, how-quickly-they-forget moments, including this one