Italian national champion Filippo Zana broke Frenchman;s Thibaut Pinot heart on Thursday, taking Stage 18. The duo broke clear of a move that contained (go figure!) Canada’s Derek Gee (Israel – Premier Tech) among others.
Pinot did take the climber’s jersey, at least. Behind, the GC battle continued with Geraint Thomas showing Primož Roglič that he is the man to beat. That is to say, Roglič couldn’t. Great white hope João Almeida faltered in the finale, dropping to third overall.
Some fans believed that Zana had an unfair advantage in the closing kilometres. He went back for a bottle and it seemed like he may have broken the unwritten rule of holding onto a bidon for more than two seconds. Usually, commissaires don’t care if a rider gets a bit of a boost from a bottle if it’s not too egregious.
“I love the aspect of a national champion winning on his home roads, whether it’s ahead of Thibaut or not. But at some point, you may wonder if the team car should get the win too, after all it helped Zana massively, especially the second time round,”
@GuillaumeWatt tweeted.
Zana grabs a bottle on the climb, and it does seem like it’s a loooooong hold. However, he still had to stay with Pinot on the final climbs, and ultimately best him in the sprint. It’s not like he was on the verge of getting dropped.
Still, the optics were not great for some who were watching the race on TV.
Check out the clip, what do you think?
I love the aspect of a national champion winning on his home roads, whether it’s ahead of Thibaut or not.
But at some point, you may wonder if the team car should get the win too, after all it helped Zana massively, especially the second time round… @UCI_cycling#Giro pic.twitter.com/NWLbh1IoqZ
— Guillaume (@GuillaumeWatt) May 25, 2023
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