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At Old Trafford, Manchester United supporters aren’t shy about making their feelings known when they deem the current team isn’t living up to the adventurous ideals of the club’s history. The chant that tumbles down from the Stretford End is simple but to the point: “Attack! Attack! Attack!”
At times, the atmosphere at this Giro d’Italia feels like it could have been lifted directly from Sir Matt Busby Way during Louis van Gaal’s tenure. A sizeable portion of the commentariat, in the press room and beyond, certainly seems disgruntled at the caution displayed by the overall contenders through the opening two weeks of the race.
Like last year’s Giro, the slender margins atop the standings have generated plenty of suspense but relatively little excitement. In comparison with the years of plenty in the middle of the past decade, the spettacolo quotient on this Giro has been low thus far.
Bruno Armirail‘s unexpected stint in the maglia rosa came about precisely because of the ongoing inertia among the favourites. Geraint Thomas and Ineos Grenadiers were happy to shed themselves temporarily of the weight of the jersey on Saturday, and Primož Roglič is in no hurry to grab it for himself.
Armirail defended his jersey on stage 15, despite the rugged terrain on the road to Bergamo on Sunday afternoon. The climbs of Valico Valcava, Selvino, Miragolo San Salvatore and Roncola Alta failed to inspire attacks among the GC contenders, who only briefly tested one another on the final, cobbled kick in Bergamo.
In his post-stage press conference, Armirail found himself being asked to explain the relative lack of aggression among the men who will ultimately take the jersey back off him next week. The Groupama-FDJ man politely pointed to the obvious.
“For sure, the public would like to see attacks, but when you’re on the bike, it’s different. The stakes are high at the Giro, so the leaders can’t just attack for the sake of it at any moment,” Armirail said. “Today if a leader attacked, where was he going to go? There was a long descent and flat section after the last big climb today.
“But they went for it on the last, small climb, and I was on the limit trying to follow them there. Now the hardest part starts on Tuesday. There’ll be a battle between the favourites then, and that will be a nice spectacle.”
‘You have to keep your feet on the ground’
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