Richard Carapaz triumphs in the Giro d'Italia stage in Castelnovo ne' Monti

Recipe for a beautiful stage in the Apennines: a tantalizing route, a noble escape, a prestigious name that puts its signature on it. In a fairytale landscape, the Giro a Castelnovo ne 'Monti also adds the show. Worthy the winner: Richard Carapaz, Olympic champion, one of those who has already ended up in the roll of honor and makes no secret of wanting to return there this year. Worthy of the order of arrival: among the men in the rankings, no one is missing up front. Worthy of the crowd too: as a baptism, not bad for the center from Reggio.

Coming out of the time trial sulking, certainly not his specialty, Carapaz doesn't waste any more time: with 9 kilometers to go, when the favorites put an end to the long breakaway of the day, the Ecuadorian transforms the climb towards the Pietra into his personal springboard. On the half minute he gains, he builds his fourth success at the Line of Business, but above all the beginning of his pursuit. "I knew I had great legs. I came here to win, I will try until the end", is his message to sailors.

Watch out for Carapaz, he is certainly not just anyone: in addition to winning the stages, he knows the podium of all the major tours and also has the gold at the Tokyo Games in his trophy cabinet. At 31, after seasons conditioned by problems, he has bet everything on the Giro, won six years ago when no one expected him: now that there are no more time trials, he can have his say in the mountains, the land where he was born a rider with the first bike taken from a landfill by his father.

If Carapaz goes on to win the stage, the credit also goes to a phenomenon who rides with other colours: it is the former pink jersey Pedersen, in the role of Ciccone's domestique, who sews up the gap between the five riders who escaped on the steep slopes of San Pellegrino in Alpe at half-time, Poels, Bilbao, Quintana, Plapp and Fortunato chasing GPMs. Such a big job that it deserves the homage of his colleagues, who split in two when the Dane steps aside.

Behind the illustrious winner there is still the pink puppet: Del Toro goes to take the time bonus to take it away from his and Ayuso's rivals. He does it with ridiculous ease, looking back twice to check who is trying to come back: more than arrogance, it is a sign of personality and talent. Signs of health still come from Tiberi, who closes another day in the office, to put it in the Americans' words: control of the stage and zero risks. Just a pinch of salt after the finish, for a slightly nervous sprint: he is angry with those who sprint even though they have no interest, but he says it with such politeness that it doesn't even seem polemical. As for Ciccone, he closes on the podium and improves the ranking, not the statistics: after eleven stages, Italian victories are still zero.

Order of arrival 11th stage Viareggio-Castelnovo ne' Monti: 1) Richard Carapaz (Ecu, Ef) 186 km in 4h 35'20''(average 40,533), 2) Del Toro (Mex) at 10'', 3) Ciccone st, 4) Pidcock (Gbr), 5) Bernal (Col), 6) Tiberi, 7) Ayuso (Spa), 12) Roglic (Slo).

Ranking: 1) Isaac Del Toro (Mex, Uae) in 38h 47'01'', 2) Ayuso (Spa) at 31'', 3) Tiberi at 1'07'', 4) S. Yates (Gbr) at 1'09'', 5) Roglic (Slo) at 1'24'', 6) Carapaz (Ecu) at 1'56'', 7) Ciccone at 2'09'', 8) McNulty (USA) at 2'16, 9) A. Yates (Gbr) at 2'33'', 10) Arensman (Ola) st, 11) Bernal (Col) at 2'39'', 16) Pellizzari at 3'49''.