EOLO-KOMETA immediately leaves its mark: Albanese is KOM
Giro d’Italia 2021
Stage 2: Stupinigi – Novara (179 km)
This time we start from the middle. From that KOM arrived after a couple of dry curves in the middle of one of those villages that make Italy the most beautiful country in the world. First, the wait: a small group of the Eolo-Kometa staff with Fran Contador in the lead and the patron of EOLO Luca Spada was there to wait for Albanese’s arrival. He went in breakaway together with Filippo Tagliani and Umberto Marengo (EOLO-KOMETA, Bardiani and Androni: the three wild cards of the Giro…), and it was known that he would have put in his sights that finish line to conquer the first blue jersey of this Giro d’Italia. The wait, knowing that everything would be played out in a three-man sprint. And then, the party when Albanese crossed that finish line first: because this is an important result, because everyone dreamed of it, because the whole team pedaled with Vincenzo.
And then, the finale: with the sprint in which Belletti did not enter the top 10 by a whisker (Merlier won, Manuel was thirteenth) and which experienced its apotheosis with the podium of our Albanese. A podium all his, a podium all the team’s: that has already left its mark on this Giro d’Italia. A sign searched, thought, wanted.
And tomorrow is another day: three KOM, and a lot of battle. 190 km between Biella and Canale, a complicated final to enjoy.
Vincenzo Albanese: “The goal of the day was to go in a breakaway and try to take the jersey, and we succeeded: a great way to start our Giro, a great way to give a sense to all the great work that the team has done in recent months. A few meters from the KOM I caught a glimpse of our patron Luca Spada and I heard him shouting my name, it gave me an extra boost. And immediately after I saw Fran Contador who was cheering because I had taken the jersey. There you go: these small things are actually very big. Just as it’s a great thing to have someone like Ivan Basso behind me who, even today, encouraged me, advised me, followed me. Tomorrow we’ll try to get back on the attack: the team’s dream is to win a stage and we’ll do everything we can to make it happen”.
[ PhotoGomezSport]
♂️ First KOM winner at Giro d’Italia 2021: @vincenalban
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— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 9, 2021
