As the race passed its halfway point, Antonio Tiberi crossed the finish line of Wednesday’s stage in Francavilla al Mare as the best young rider and the best home rider at the 107th Giro d’Italia.
“This is such a beautiful moment for me, and above all, an honour,” said an emotional Tiberi as he waited to step onto a Grand Tour podium for the first time. “For an Italian to wear a jersey at the Giro is one of the most wonderful achievements for a cyclist. It’s a dream come true – and to be in the first row on the startline tomorrow in front of my home fans who have just been so amazing since day one supporting me. Wearing this jersey is a privilege that I promise I will do my utmost to honour until Rome”
The 22 year old is fast becoming something of a superstar in his home country, and a fans’ favourite. The positivity is not only coming from the public, but also from within the cycling world: double world champion and 1990 Giro winner Gianni Bugno called him “the future of Italian cycling”, race leader Tadej Pogačar said yesterday that “Tiberi is the only rider who has shown some balls” [sic], and the Italian press has christened him “The New Vincenzo Nibali”. From Nibali’s point of view, they should be rather calling him, “The New Tiberi,” which ‘Lo Squalo’ says is praise in itself.
All this kudos could easily go to the head of a young man who only signed for Bahrain in June. He has already won the white jersey at the Tour of the Alps this year, where he also finished 3rd overall. But despite the universal acclamation, Tiberi is remaining humble:
“I’ve come from one of the lowest points of my life and now this is one of the best. It’s so amazing people are giving me another chance, and I hope my story is everyone makes mistakes but we learn from them. There will always be hard moments, but we can bounce back. I am thankful to the team for the chance, and to the Italian public too for getting behind me. I’m so happy to start to repay their faith in me”
Stage 11 started in Foiano di Val Fortore, and included just one categorised climb, the C3 Pletracatella, which came early in the 207km which crossed four regions of Italy: Campania, Puglia, Molise and Abruzzo where a bunch sprint decided the winner, Jonathan Milan (LTK). Bahrain’s sprinter Phil Bauhaus secured his 3rd top ten of the race, and the rest of the team came home unscathed, avoiding a big crash in the finishing straight and ready for the coming days.
Stages 12, 13 & 14 all contain very little climbing, before the ‘Queen Stage’ on Sunday, from when the pink, white and blue jersey winners will be decided. It’s a challenge the new leader of the young riders’ classification is relishing.
“Today was pretty straightforward, but a bit too fast for me to be honest! I’m looking forward to getting back in the mountains. Moving forward we have some beautiful stages coming up. Tomorrow already is a bit more challenging hard, and then we’ll be thinking about the time trial on Saturday when I’ll hope to do well. Then it’s the biggest stage of the race to Livigno which for sure is going to be energy-sapping, before the second rest day on Monday. There’s a long way to go in this Giro, and so far I’m feeling good!
Stage 12 starts at 12:25 CET on Thursday, and runs at 193km from Martinsicuro to Fano
