Domestique Debrief Giro stage 4: Ciccone takes pink while Vingegaard marks time

Movistar set a tempo on the Cozzo Tunno that was designed to shatter the peloton, and it did, but the real story was not who attacked - no one did - but who managed to stay upright, chase back, or grab a few seconds when the opportunity presented itself.

By the time Jhonatan Narváez sprinted clear in Cosenza, the provisional GC looked like a game of musical chairs where everyone had changed seats without anyone quite realising the music had stopped.

Giulio Ciccone is now the maglia rosa, fulfilling a childhood dream he has chased for a decade. The Lidl-Trek rider moved into pink by finishing third in the reduced sprint, picking up enough bonus seconds to edge ahead of a four-way tie that included Egan Bernal, Jan Christen, and Florian Stork. “My dream as a rider was to wear it, if only for a day - or a night,” Ciccone said afterwards, already hedging his bets on how long he can keep it.

The bigger question is what Lidl-Trek will do with it. Luca Guercilena, the team’s manager, was blunt: Derek Gee-West is the GC leader, Ciccone is here for stages, and the strategy does not change. “You have to be realistic,” Ciccone said. “You don’t improvise a GC challenge from one day to the next.”

That realism may be tested on stage 5 to Potenza, and then again on the Blockhaus, the climb where Ciccone’s GC ambitions last imploded. He knows what awaits. “Keeping it at the Blockhaus will be very, very difficult because it’s the first test for Jonas,” he said. The pink jersey is a gift, then, but one with an expiry date already stamped on it.

Read: Why Ciccone’s pink jersey won’t change Lidl-Trek’s Giro strategy: ‘You have to be realistic’

Jonas Vingegaard, the man Ciccone named as the likely end of his tenure in pink, came through the stage without trouble but also without the bonus seconds he tried to take at the Red Bull kilometre.

Jan Christen, Giulio Pellizzari, and Ciccone himself took the available time at the intermediate sprint, leaving Vingegaard empty-handed. “If you are already up there, you might as well try,” Vingegaard said, though he added that the plan had originally been to leave the bonuses alone. He did not sound concerned. “I don’t think it was that hectic,” he said of the finale.

“They were just riding hard, and I thought that was fine. Especially with that finish, it was good not to have a full peloton and all the sprinters fighting for position. It probably would have gone wrong in one way or another.”

Marc Reef, Visma’s sports director, said staying out of trouble had been the main objective, and on that count the team succeeded. Vingegaard also sounded encouraged by his legs on the Cozzo Tunno, the first sustained climb of the race. “I think I was going well,” he said.

“Of course the pace was high, but I still felt that both I and the others on the team had something extra in the tank.” The confidence is there. The bonus seconds are not, but Vingegaard does not expect the Giro to be decided by such margins.

Read: Vingegaard plays down missed bonus seconds after tense Giro stage 4

Egan Bernal, meanwhile, nearly found himself in serious jeopardy. The Colombian champion was visibly struggling on the upper slopes of the Cozzo Tunno, hovering off the back as Movistar’s Lorenzo Milesi drilled the pace.

When the elastic snapped, Bernal’s GC ambitions looked like they might unravel before the race had even reached the mountains. Ben Turner dropped back, paced him steadily through the descent, and brought him home in time to avoid losses. Turner’s ride was selfless and effective, the kind of performance that goes unnoticed in the results but defines the race.

“Yeah, I think after the rest day and the easy stages, it’s quite a normal thing to be quite blocked because it was really explosive climbing,” Turner explained. “So I think it’s not a big stress, he’s for sure got the level, and that’s clear and doesn’t change anything for us.”

Bernal finished safely in the reduced peloton in 27th place, just four seconds behind Ciccone in the overall. Turner, for his part, still had enough left to finish fourth in the sprint. “It’s hard to say… but we are here to do a team job,” Turner said when asked if he felt any regret at missing the stage win. “We have priorities, and I’m really proud of the performance as a team.”

Read: Turner backs Bernal after Giro GC scare: ‘He’s for sure got the level’

Derek Gee-West also had a scare, though his was mechanical rather than physical. The Canadian punctured just after the summit of the Cozzo Tunno and found himself chasing back at the worst possible moment, with Movistar still driving the pace for Orluis Aular.

Gee-West joined forces with Bernal and Turner on the descent and made contact with the peloton with 17 kilometres remaining. “Really, really unfortunate timing on that one,” Gee-West said. “I thought that was going to be another minute gone, but yeah, luckily Egan was back there with Ben Turner, and they were, they were ripping it to come back.”

Even once the gap had closed, Gee-West said there was no respite until he was safely in the bunch. The chase cost him energy but not time, and Lidl-Trek can breathe easier knowing both their GC riders survived the day intact.

Read: Gee-West survives late puncture scare as Lidl-Trek teammates haul him back

Narváez’s victory was a relief for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, a team that has been battered since Bulgaria. Marc Soler, Jay Vine, and Adam Yates have all abandoned following the stage 2 crash, leaving UAE with just five riders still in the race. Narváez had not raced since crashing at the Tour Down Under in January and spent the spring training at altitude in Ecuador.

“I think it’s really big for me, this victory here coming from three months training in Ecuador,” he said. “I want to send thanks to my family, my wife, my team, they’ve been a great support in this time.” He dedicated the win to his teammates, the ones who crashed and the ones who are still standing.

Jan Christen, the 21-year-old Swiss rider, had attacked with 1.6 kilometres to go in an attempt to steal the maglia rosa, but Movistar and Lidl-Trek chased him down inside the final kilometre. “We talked about it on the radio,” Christen said. “I felt good, and if I went in the final two kilometres, there was a chance I could make it. If not, Jhonny could stay in the wheels and sprint. In the end, it worked out, so I’m really happy for him.”

Christen is now level on time in second overall, four seconds behind Ciccone, and said the pink jersey is close enough to think about. “We’ll see,” he said. “It’s my first Giro and having the white jersey is already amazing. The pink jersey is very close, so we’ll see what happens in the next few days.”

Read: Narváez dedicates Giro stage 4 win to teammates after comeback from injury

The casualty list from Bulgaria continues to grow. Arnaud De Lie abandoned midway through stage 4, still suffering from the illness outbreak that hit Lotto-Intermarché before the race. The Belgian had struggled since the opening stage despite arriving as one of the team’s main sprint hopes. 

“We had hoped that Arnaud would be doing better after the rest day, but today he was having stomach trouble again,” sports director Pieter Vanspeybrouck said. Milan Menten, also affected, nearly followed him out after vomiting twice during the stage. 

Kaden Groves also abandoned, still feeling the effects of the opening stage crash in Burgas. The Alpecin-Premier Tech sprinter had hoped a rest day would help, but stepped off the bike with just under 100 kilometres remaining, costing the team its most likely opening week stage winner.

Visma lost Wilco Kelderman, who did not start stage 4 after failing to recover from his stage 2 crash. The Dutchman had been expected to play a key mountain support role for Vingegaard, whose team is now lighter in the weeks ahead.

Read: De Lie abandons Giro d’Italia on stage 4 following illness struggles

Read: Groves forced to abandon Giro due to opening stage crash injuries

Read: Blow for Vingegaard as key teammate abandons Giro ahead of stage 4

Stage 5 to Potenza is the first real test for the GC favourites, a day with almost 3,700 metres of elevation gain and a brutal climb, the Montagna Grande di Viggiano, deep into the stage. At 5 kilometres with an average gradient of 10 per cent, it is steep enough to split the race apart, and with 50 kilometres still to race after the summit, riders distanced over the top could find themselves isolated on the rolling terrain towards the finish.

Ciccone’s pink jersey may not survive the day. Vingegaard, if he chooses to attack, could gain valuable time. Gee-West, Pellizzari, Van Eetvelt, and Felix Gall all have the profile to make the stage count. The finish itself is technical and slightly uphill, the kind of finale that rewards riders who still have matches to burn after a hard day.

The weather forecast includes crosswinds and a chance of rain, which would make the technical sections more dangerous. This is not a day for caution.

Read: Giro d’Italia stage 5 preview - GC favourites face first real chance to take pink