Bais brothers go on the attack in the first ‘tappone’ of the Giro
Davide and Mattia Bais were in the breakaway of the first big mountain stage of the Giro, with almost 200 kilometres between Piazzola sul Brenta and San Valentino (Brentonico), which included the climbs to Candriai and Santa Barbara, and where Davide Piganzoli held with the favourites until the final climb to place himself on the edge of the top-10 of the general classification.
The 16th stage of the Giro started in the rain, with harsh weather conditions that improved as the kilometres went by. Almost 6 hours of effort that did not scare the Bais brothers, attentive in the initial part to filter in a group of 24 cyclists dreaming of fighting for the victory in their region, in front of their people, with the public shouting their names.
The gap was as much as 9 minutes, but in the main group everything blew up on the climb to Santa Barbara. The breakaway was also selected and despite their perseverance, both Bais were neutralised by the favourites, while Piganzoli suffered to finish in 18th position, just behind the rest of the leaders and just outside the top-10 of an overall classification in which he is already 12th. The win in San Valentino went to the Astana duo of Scaronni and Fortunato.
Mattia Bais: ‘It was undoubtedly one of the hardest stages of the Giro. Although a first breakaway had no team representation, we were able to attack a big group to join the front of the race with my brother Davide and myself. The weather was very, very tough with cold and rain, but then the day got better and it was great to race on our usual training roads, with the fans supporting us in that final part. We will keep trying’.
Stefano Zanatta, sport director: ‘We had a strong start this last week, with a breakaway lead group in which we were able to be with Mattia and Davide having a presence in that group. For his part, Piganzoli struggled in Santa Barbara to hold with the best, but he managed to do a great final climb, he has climbed positions in the general classification and we hope to continue to do so in the remaining stages’.
This Wednesday, the Giro d’Italia faces the 17th stage with a finish in Bormio after 154 kilometres that includes the Passo del Mortirolo at km110 of the race to continue deciding the outcome of the race.
