The two Jumbo riders take advantage of their majority in the seventh stage break, one more pink for Juanpe López
On the slope of Potenza, the Dutchman Koen Bouwman raised his arms. A few yards behind, his teammate Tom Dumoulin did the same, happy as if the win was his. In addition to winning the 2017 Giro and second in the 2018 Tour, Dumoulin is very generous. He was a champion and now he is different. It stems from depression. Be careful with mirrors. Sometimes you look at yourself and don’t recognize yourself. That happened to him. He ran for others, his family, his team, his fans… “I forgot myself.” To make matters worse, on his team, the Jumbo, was Primoz Roglic, who is a mental rock. A cyclist who gets back up like nothing after every setback. The comparison with the Slovenian sank him. And he left it. He retired for a few months. He walked the dog, lived a normal life, without pressure, and found himself again. Now, back, he has not recovered his best level, but he can enjoy stages like the seventh of the Giro and give everything so that one of his team wins. “This makes me very happy,” he said. The same smile had Juanpe López, leader another day.
The seventh was one of those stages that go unnoticed the first time you look at the road book and which, later on, on the tarmac, turn out to be great. And even more so when the cyclists set off from the Diamante coast in a rush towards the Apennines. When the leading group Bouwman, Dumoulin, Villella, Camargo, Formolo, Poels and Mollema crossed Mount Sirino, the average speed was almost 40 kilometers per hour on an uphill course. cheeky. There was still 100 kilometers to go until the finish on the Potenza slope. Not a flat meter. It was clear that it was going to be a penalty day, especially for the leader, Juanpe López. The man from Lebrija and his team, the Trek, immediately started defending the pink jersey. They had one for themselves, Mollema, a guarantee.
There, after that crazy start, things slowed down. It was arranged with the Apennines as the backdrop. Between isolated and staggered villages on the thousand hills of this green region. The escapees on the one side and the peloton on the other. Further on, Dumoulin and his escape colleagues encountered Monte Grande di Viggiano. Second category. Secure? It was actually a wall of almost 7 kilometers with an average of 9.1%. That’s how the Giro spends them. Yes, freshly paved. Behind them, the Ineos de Carapaz seized the wheel. The British squad accelerated again and narrowed the gap. Juanpe’s pink sweater was in a safe place. His team, the Trek, was already thinking about winning with Mollema in Potenza.
The stage had put a knife on everyone’s neck. Nonstop. The last port, the Sellata, had to bring order among the escapees. This slope is a ball of asphalt in the middle of the forest. Fresh air. Four breathed at ease: the Italian Formolo and the Dutchman Bouwman, Mollema and Dumoulin, who, after having lost everything on Etna, was reborn in the Apennines as Bouwman’s pleasant, younger one, with more spirit. Dumoulin threw himself into his new profession and let no one escape him. He persevered as best he could and when he couldn’t, he insisted on joining in to continue his sacrifice. With what was left in an almost empty tank, he launched Bouwman into the 300 meter high wall that climbed to the banner. Bouwman, who only won one stage in the Dauphiné, turned out to be an excellent finisher and justified the Jumbo’s tactics. Neither Mollema nor Formolo approached him. Bouwman and Dumoulin, watching from behind, raised their arms at the same time. Pass and goal.
Three minutes later the peloton appeared, slowed down and tired by the demands of the Apennines. Juanpe López is holding on to the pink jersey. Your darling. Mikel Landa took the lead on the short final climb. He does not want to be careless or lose anything before he can start on a podium place in this Giro on Sunday in the Blockhaus.
Source: La Verdad
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