Poitou-Charentes: Rivi, victory is yours!
It was in the air. Thrown, sought, wanted, chased. And in the end the victory came. Samuele Rivi won the third stage of the Tour Poitou-Charentes, arms raised on the finish line in la Roche-Posay in the first of two stages scheduled for today (in the afternoon, 22 km time trial).
Rivi won, wonderful, crowning a breakaway that began almost immediately, or rather: began yesterday. That’s right, because in yesterday’s stage Rivi had crashed getting a few bruises but more importantly losing the chance to fight for the general classification. Today’s victory began at that moment, when Samuele pulled out all his pride to bring home this beautiful result that repays him for so many escapes gone awry, so many sacrifices, so much work for his teammates.
A breakaway gone quickly, it was said: Rivi and three other riders (Gabburo, Le Ny, Fouché) went on the attack. It was an important breakaway, with Gabburo and Le Ny dangerous for the general classification and the group never leaving more than a 2′ lead. The work of the four attackers went on well until the GPM when Fouché allowed himself to be detached after passing first. The finale saw a heavy thunderstorm bearing down on the peloton (and this perhaps favored the three attackers a bit) and Rivi handling the final sprint as best he could, crossing the line first under the downpour and thus capturing his first, much-deserved, victory as a pro.
Behind, the team worked as always well to keep Lonardi in front: to be recorded a fall of Davìd Martin 300 meters from the finish line, without consequences.
Samuele Rivi: “All I can say is that it is beautiful. Beautiful. Winning is beautiful. And behind this victory there is really so much, so many emotions that are now exploding inside me. I want to dedicate this moment to the people who have been close to me in this very difficult period, to my girlfriend Anna, to my mom and dad, and to my brother Matteo who have been following me passionately for years and to whom I had given little satisfaction so far. To my trainer De Maria, and to those who are now happy with me and for me. Thanks to all my teammates: I am overjoyed, after chasing it for so long to come to victory is beautiful.”
Stefano Zanatta: “After two days as protagonists, we managed to find this victory. Samuele was very good at managing the breakaway and the final sprint, but above all he was very good at transforming the disappointment for yesterday’s fall into strength that led him to the win. We knew his condition was great, and today he showed it. I have to give kudos to the whole team, which again worked very well today.”
