Professional road racing so often seems demanding beyond all reason. Some would say that is the point of it. Stage 19, already the longest day of the Giro at 253 km, had to be extended on 3 October after torrential rain caused a bridge to collapse. The new length, 258 km, was 19 km more than the San Daniele del Friuli stage, the two final circuits of which – however pointless they seemed to those not in contention – will have been thoroughly approved of by the stage winner, Jan Tratnik. This is how cycling is: the winners have no problem with great length or technical descents or extreme climbs. Everyone else sees only danger or madness. As my old Italian teacher used to say, “It’s punti di vista – points of view.” There is no solution.
