And even though Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier did an excellent work keeping the poorly-cooperative group on a short leash in the long valley, the peloton finally subdued before the day’s decisive ascent, in particular to the torrential rain which left most of the GC contenders frozen to bone.
“In the end, I think it was not the best day to wear my first maglia rosa,” Ciccone laughed in a quick interview for TNT Sports. “It was one of the hardest and nervous days of my life on the bike, even for the weather, which was really crazy sometimes. I really suffered from the cold, and I think you can also see my face.”
Back to original plan
Despite the disappointment of losing the jersey after one stage, Ciccone wasn’t heartbroken about the outcome. After enjoying a moment on cloud nine, it was important to not forget he’s not here in Italy, competing for himself.
“As I said already this morning, we are here without the team to control, to defend this jersey,” explained Ciccone. “So I already said it yesterday that I’d for sure love to keep the jersey longer, but that a similar scenario was a possibility today. We have a super strong team for the sprints for Johnny [Milan], so it’s like this.”
With that, the focus slowly shifts back towards Lidl-Trek’s intended GC card – Derek Gee, who currently sits 28th overall, a minute behind most favourites. “I just said to say thanks to him [Gee-West] because he’s here with big ambition of GC and he’s also helping a lot in the stage, give me support, food, rain jackets and of course, I cannot ask to him to pull or do something, because, like I say, he’s here to to do something really good on GC,” Ciccone concluded.