Mission accomplished: Albanese defends the blue; but Belletti crashs
Giro d’Italia 2021
Stage 3: Biella – Canale (190 km)
Mission accomplished. The objective of the day was to defend the blue jersey of Vincenzo Albanese, in a complicated stage with three KOM to climb and a non-trivial arrival. And the goal was achieved: Albanese, accompanied by Samuele Rivi (exceptional work, his, in the service of his companion) entered the breakaway of the day and defended his precious jersey by taking the first KOM and passing first on the other uphill finish of the day.
Mission accomplished, even if the winner of the day was one of Vincenzo’s breakaway companions: Van Der Hoorn lived his personal fairytale with one of those feats that remain in history and in the memory. The stage victory remains the great dream of the EOLO-KOMETA: but to wear the blue jersey, for this team, is something that a bit ‘like him. Goals and results that until a few months ago seemed impossible to achieve, and that are now increasingly becoming a reality.
The only note of concern today was the crash of Manuel Belletti, who has been plagued by bad luck this season, his last as a professional. The sprinter from Romagna crashed on the asphalt on the first descent: he then finished the stage, his condition will be evaluated in the next hours.
Vincenzo Albanese: “I’m happy. I’m happy because my goal was to enter in the breakaway of the day to defend the blue jersey, and the goal has been achieved. Of course, the dream of winning a stage remains and in the end, seeing that it was one of my breakaway companions who won, left me with a bit of regret. But after yesterday’s and today’s efforts, I was really tired at the end. It’s early days and to have started this Giro like this is definitely a positive thing: having a smile on your face is important for the whole team. I’m fine, and I’ll definitely keep trying from here to the end. Because the goal is always the same: to win a stage. That would be a dream”.
For Tuesday, road to Sestola.
[ PhotoGomezSport]
