Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka ASSOS) finally broke his duck at his home grand tour in front of a delighted tifosi and teammates. The European Champion chased down a powerful surprise attack from Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) before leaping off his wheel to scream across the line with the biggest smile you will see all year. Peter Sagan (BORA-hansgrohe) rounded out the podium. There were no changes in the top ten on GC with Egan Bernal (INEOS-Grenadiers) still in pink and happy for a rest before the mighty Zoncolan tomorrow.
Look at that SMILE! Nizzolo must have thought his day to cross the finish line at the Giro d’Italia, arms aloft in victory, would never come.
After 19 runner-up places and 45 top 10 finishes, Giacomo Nizzolo finally gets his first Grand Tour stage victory.
— CafeRoubaix (@CafeRoubaix) May 21, 2021
After a more-or-less uncomplicated day trying not to catch the break-of-the-day too early, the sprint teams took control in the final kilometres for their last chance to strut their stuff.
⏱️ Timing is everything in the Verona sprint! The final kilometre.
⏱️ Il tempismo è tutto nella volata di Verona! L'ultimo chilometro!
Powered by @supersapiensinc #Giro pic.twitter.com/ZPcCTRQCeW
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 21, 2021
It looked like it was all leading to a classic clash of the fast men when Edoardo Affini took off with 700m to go. At first I thought he running lead out for Dylan Groenewegen, but with his sprinter nowhere to be seen and certainly not on his wheel, he kept going and opened up a HUGE GAP in a very short time.
That set the alarm bells ringing, but Giacomo kept his cool. with around 400m to go he sprinted once to get into Fernando Gaviria’s slipstream (UAE-TeamEmirates), then cleverly switched to the right to chase down Affini, before taking it up a gear to pass him and win by over a bike length. You can’t practice for these scenarios, that split second decision to GO is pure instinct. Complementi Giacomo!
Don’t you just LOVE IT when a teammate behind the winner is celebrating too!?!
The joy of Qhubeka!
🇮🇹 #Giro
🥇G R A N D E@Giacomonizzolo wins stage 13 of the @giroditalia in Verona!
His first-ever stage victory at a Grand Tour‼️
Ubuntu – I am because we are 🖐️#BicyclesChangesLives pic.twitter.com/6uzyXqKoks
— Team Qhubeka ASSOS (@QhubekaAssos) May 21, 2021
A win today for Il Mastino Brianzolo (the Mastiff of Brianza) #Giro pic.twitter.com/aL8pvk8f11
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) May 21, 2021
What a happy win. Night all
— MrsFrog (@musettedutour) May 21, 2021
Grande emozione 🇮🇹
— José Been (@TourDeJose) May 21, 2021
Ooft Trek…
#Giro @Giacomonizzolo we are so happy for you!!!
(But honestly, we would be happier if you had done this in 2018…just saying.) pic.twitter.com/e1lvYEpksx
— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) May 21, 2021
And another black cat, just for good measure. A psychic black cat
OMGODD the cat has done it AGAIN 🤣💯🤘🤘🤘🤑🤑🤑🤑 https://t.co/91mVgGsPH4
— Amy E White (@AmyEWhite3) May 21, 2021
I hope he cries in the interview.
In the absolute best way possible.
Italian sprinter. Long career. Home Tour.
— Just Pro Cycling (@justprocycling) May 21, 2021
He didn’t, he was STILL SMILING and a bit cheeky ‘my goal was to be second‘.
🎙️ @Giacomonizzolo: "Finally I've got a stage victory at the Giro! I chose to risk staying too long in the wind rather than wait for too long behind other riders with the chance of being blocked. My choice paid off!"
Powered by @eolo_it #Giro pic.twitter.com/7RMJ5NTM50
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 21, 2021
🇮🇹 #Giro
The 1 hour 30min transfer post-stage is going very well, thank you! 🖐️
🥂 @giroditalia#BicyclesChangeLives pic.twitter.com/culxlkmvXg
— Team Qhubeka ASSOS (@QhubekaAssos) May 21, 2021
Let’s look at the stats
It’s not often I start looking at Velon numbers, but the finish by both Nizzolo and Affini warrants it. I would have placed money on Jumbo-Visma taking that stage. The gap Affini put into the field, the way he held it for so long – amazing! It took an incredible and well timed effort from the eventual winner to deny him.
And if that wasn't good enough, Edoardo Affini's lead-out turned bid for victory was absolutely ridiculous 😲
⏱Duration: 41”
💨Avg speed: 70.4km/h
🌪Max speed: 72.3km/h
⚡️Avg power: 850w
💥Max power: 1090w pic.twitter.com/vzcCyvsucO— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 21, 2021
Let’s hear from the Jumbo-Bee with legs of steel
🎥 We caught up with @edoardo_affini after an incredible effort in the last 500meters that saw him gap the sprinters and almost hold on for the win. 🙌🏼@JumboVismaRoad
—————————#Giro #Giro2021 #Giro104 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/7xcK54gQNu— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 21, 2021
Ah fair Verona
With a finish in Verona, setting for star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, you have to expect a smattering of Shakespeare with your cycling tweets. My prize goes to Dans La Musette who summed the finale with quotes.
Parting is such sweet sorrow
"La séparation est un si doux chagrin."
Roméo et Juliette (1594) de William Shakespeare#Giro pic.twitter.com/NmYvDrmPZp
— Dans la Musette (@DansLaMusette) May 21, 2021
"Allons sagement et doucement: trébuche qui court vite."
Roméo et Juliette (1594) de William Shakespeare#Giro pic.twitter.com/98fb0cmSwk
— Dans la Musette (@DansLaMusette) May 21, 2021
Ô Giacomo ! Giacomo ! pourquoi es-tu Giacomo ? #Giro pic.twitter.com/wG3qv4hMfN
— Dans la Musette (@DansLaMusette) May 21, 2021
Ouch!
Post race analysis shows that Fernando Gaviria (UAE-Team Emirates) suffered an unusual mechanical in the finale… he sprinted without a saddle!
Not a single day without drama for Fernando Gaviria. Today, he did the sprint without a saddle. 🤷♂️ #Giro pic.twitter.com/WjzBJ0khp6
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) May 21, 2021
Sqwauk- if he had sat down … 😳 https://t.co/h9iiiVu8zq
— VeloVoices (@VeloVoices) May 21, 2021
I’ve only seen this type of catastrophe once before. Why do I remember? Well it was Dane, of course. Poor Matti.
40km without a saddle. 🙈
Wouldn't want to be Matti Breschel at #Scheldeprijs right now! pic.twitter.com/haF3rRggLg— Cycle Republic (@CycleRepublicUK) April 5, 2017
The Final Word
There are no more sprints…only pain ahead
David Dekker and Dylan Groenewegen leave Giro.
Can’t wait to read how Eddy Merckx feels about this https://t.co/h0rs0POlJ1
— José Been (@TourDeJose) May 21, 2021
Has nobody asked Cipo his thoughts?
— Rob Whittle (@PolkaDotRob) May 21, 2021
Results
Stage 12 Top 5
1 Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka ASSOS) 4:42:19
2 Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) same time
3 Peter Sagan (BORA-hansgrohe) s/t
4 Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) s/t
5 Fernando Gaviria (UAE-Team Emirates) s/t
GC Top 10
1 Egan Bernal Gomez (Ineos Grenadiers) 53:11:42
2 Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) +0:45
3 Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +1:12
4 Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) +1:17
5 Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +1:22
6 Emanuel Buchmann (BORA-hansgrohe) +1:50
7 Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step) +2:22
8 Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) +2:24
9 Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) +2:49
10 Daniel Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers) +3:15
All the jerseys
Leader’s jersey Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers)
Points jersey Peter Sagan (BORA-hansgrohe)
King of the Mountains Geoffrey Bouchard (Ag2r Citroen)
Best Young Rider Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers)
For full race reviews, go to cyclingnews.
Official race website: Giro d’Italia