It seems as if it was both just yesterday and an eternity since the 2022 Giro d’Italia kickstarted in Budapest with fans cheering Attila Valter‘s name, ending in Verona with fans chanting Vincenzo Nibali‘s name. No, Nibali did not magically win the Giro today, it was simply his last one.
I’ve been trying to get this posted for days but everything keeps shifting. So I’m just going to post now … We have Wanty Corner, a lot about Mathieu van der Poel – both good (love his attackity racing!) and horrifying, we applaud Bahrain and Bora’s takin’ it to Ineos and much more. Go, quick, before everything changes again!
Sum up stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia in two words? BREATHLESS EXHILARATION. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) comes back from a crash then puts in a vicious attack to fly solo for his maiden Grand Tour victory. His team, especially Wout Poels, set Mikel Landa up to displace UAE Team-Emirate’s Joao Almeida on the third step of the Giro podium. Richard Carapaz (INEOS – Grenadiers) is still in pink with Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe) still locked at three seconds adrift in second, and I haven’t even mentioned the exploits of dynamic Dutch duo of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Fenix) and Gijs Leemreize (Jumbo-Visma). Hold onto your hats, people!