Maestri, riding for victory, finishes ninth in the twelfth stage of the Giro d’Italia
A day more like a classic, with up to ten very hard walls looking for the finish in Fano, showed the grit and quality of Mirco Maestri, giving a great show and making Team Polti Kometa dream.
The adventure of captain Mirco Maestri started at the 65th kilometre of the race, in Montelupone. The ascent to the second of the hills included in the course, led to a selection in the group of attackers where he was already riding with big names such as Hepburn (Jayco), Affini (Visma) or Clarke (Israel). Maestri took off at this point with Alaphilippe (Soudal QuickStep), looking for the lead in this very hard day of the Giro d’Italia.
There were almost 140 kilometres to go. But the ambition of the Italian and the Frenchman allowed them to make their way. In Maestri’s case, to wear the Polti Kometa jersey, which never ceases to shine in the race. To dream of reaching the finish line in Fano victorious, improving on Pietrobon’s third place and Lonardi’s identical place, both of whom have already finished third in this Giro in previous stages.
Behind, Davide Piganzoli also took advantage of the toughness of the course to filter into a chasing group of almost 30 riders, in which the presence of several riders fighting for the general classification stood out. Despite having more than 2 minutes gap over the leader’s peloton, the lack of understanding and the pace of the main group ended up neutralising this attempt.
Oblivious to all this, the leading duo of Maestri and Alaphilippe continued to make their way with a gap of over 6 minutes. All the hot spots of the day, the punctuated climbs, the sprints and the Intergiro, were for a Maestri who generously collaborated in the relays. But the chasing group was approaching before the final wall, the climb to Monte Giove. The Italian could not withstand the hard ramps, and said goodbye to his options with 11 kilometres to go but completing a great performance. He was the protagonist for another day. Alaphilippe took the victory in Fano, Maestri held on in the chasing group to be ninth at the finish.
Mirco Maestri: “It was wonderful to be able to face this breakaway with a champion like Alaphilippe, whom I admire a lot. I will always remember him. We agreed not to attack each other, to understand each other and to make our way. I would have loved to have won a stage that we had marked out, although it was difficult because there were many riders who were looking to win. I gave everything I had, it was a very hard day, possibly the hardest of my life. Alaphilippe helped me and encouraged me to keep going, although on the last wall I couldn’t follow him. I think it was really difficult to beat him, but we got the best possible result. When he came to thank me at the finish line, I congratulated him on his victory”.
Jesús Hernandez, sports director, accompanied Mirco Maestri from the Team Polti Kometa team car in the breakaway: “Mirco’s performance was wonderful. With commitment and ambition, he faced a breakaway with a double world champion. What’s less important is the result at the finish line, I’ll keep Maestri’s attitude and courage”.
This Friday, the Giro d’Italia faces the 13th stage between Riccione and Cento, over 179 kilometres, which is completely flat and should favour the sprinters.
