A nice rest day, and Enzo Paleni was good to go again! This Tuesday, on stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia, the young Frenchman managed to join the day’s breakaway, which established itself after more than seventy kilometres of fighting. However, the final climb proved too demanding, and he could not stay away from the peloton to achieve a noteworthy result. On Wednesday, the sprinters should battle for the win.
As the Giro riders hit the road again, after a well-deserved rest day, another summit finish awaited them this Tuesday. From the iconic city of Pompeii, 142 kilometers were on the menu towards the long final climb of Bocca della Selva (18 km at 5.5%). In the opinion of many, this tenth stage was made for the breakaway. “The first sixty kilometres were almost completely flat, we were more on our terrain, so we decided to join in the fight and to pay attention in the event big groups would go,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. Many attempts occurred in the first part of the race, and Cyril Barthe and Clément Davy followed some of the moves. However, the peloton never eased off, and it was only after the intermediate sprint, after some fifty kilometres, that a breakaway started to take shape. “The group went with strong guys on a climb, there were about 25 riders in front, and we had Enzo,” added Frédéric. “For us, it was perfect since it could lead Enzo quite far in the stage, and possibly allow him to get a small result. In the lead, it was up to the teammates of the riders placed on GC to ride. It happened quite naturally. In addition, the race opened quite early because Jan Tratnik attacked. Enzo just had to keep up, as long as he could.”
“It will pay off sooner or later”, Frédéric Guesdon
Nearly forty kilometres from the finish, the breakaway split into three pieces, with Jan Tratnik in the lead, four men in the chase, then the rest of the breakaway which included the Groupama-FDJ rider. After a hilly portion of the race, Enzo Paleni approached the final climb 1’30 behind the leader and only three minutes ahead of the peloton. “I felt good at the start, but as the finish approached, I felt that I was getting tired,” he explained. “On the last climb, I gave my all to hold on, then from the moment I was dropped, I finished at my own pace. In any case, I’m satisfied that I felt good again, because I had a complicated two days following the crash. I’m happy to see that things are getting better again. Today, it was a bit hard for me because of the summit finish, but I want to keep creating opportunities and give my best to try to win.” “Unfortunately, there were strong climbers in front, and it went up too fast for him,” added Frédéric. “That said, it’s always good to be at the front in a Grand Tour. It’s his first Grand Tour and his second breakaway. The first time, he got a result. Today he didn’t because he was not on his terrain, but it’s good for him and for the team.”
After he was caught by the pink jersey peloton, Enzo Paleni eventually finished in 49th place, while victory went to Valentin Paret-Peintre. On Wednesday, stage 10 will feature more than 200 kilometers (207), but a flat second half of the stage. “I hope we’ll have a good sprint,” concluded Frédéric. “Laurence is back in shape, there are fewer sprinters, and the mountain has taken its toll. We are optimistic and it will pay off sooner or later.”
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