"Nibali for me does not retire, Carapaz collapsed on his head, Covi is strong for the Monumento" - OA Sport

THE COMPANY OF ALESSANDRO COVI ON THE MARMOLADA

It was good for Covi, he did a number. He is a young boy, he is only 23 years old. He won with a breakaway, I think he is a good rider for the national team and for road races, he is not cut out for stage races, he is not a climber. He is a runner from Liège, he can give us some satisfactions in the Monument Classics. Today he proved that he was fine. Once Joao Almeida retired, he always stood out. Today he took away the escape, he earned it. The attack on the Pordoi rewarded him, he had great courage. Detaching Novak in that stretch proved decisive.

THE PROBLEM OF COVI IS TO HAVE A CERTAIN TADEJ POGACAR IN THE TEAM …

It is not said that with Pogacar he will not be captain, in the Classics you will find space. Covi is only 23 years old, he is very young. He has a nice quick start, a very strong shot, I would say that he is more of a finisseur than a sprinter. On the Pordoi he was very good. I believe instead that he has a little wrong timing Ciccone: tonight he will have some regrets.

CICCONE MUST TRY AGAIN FOR THE GENERAL RANKING

In my opinion Ciccone is right that we try again to make the standings. Uphill goes strong. He can get there too to riders like Bilbao and Hirt, but I still see him a bit too nervous in the race. With maturity he will find his size and will become calmer.

HINDLEY CONQUERS THE PINK JERSEY

Hindley was spectacular, very good. Kämna was also good, the Bora people didn’t do anything wrong, because the German was picked up by the Australian at just the right moment. I didn’t understand when Sivakov started shooting and everything seemed fine for Carapaz.

THE COLLAPSE OF CARAPAZ

I did not expect the collapse of Carapaz, it was no longer going up. I think it was really a psychological breakdown. Today he was still lucky enough to have Landa’s team shooting for him. It all seemed in favor of him. I expected him to lose something from Hindley because it was seen that the Australian on the climb had a little more, but a 20-30 seconds, not more. Instead, when he saw himself detached, his head just gave up.

LANDA ON THE PODIUM AFTER 7 YEARS

For Bahrain everything was perfect: they won the team classification, a stage with Buitrago and are 3rd and 5th overall. Landa is a placed, not a winner. Definitely a good runner, but limited.

WHERE IS HINDLEY LOCATED IN THE WORLD CONTEXT?

Hindley should be seen in the presence of the Pogacar and Roglic. He is young and has room for improvement. He does things very naturally, he never seems to me tired, even if today he arrived exhausted. A second and a first place in the Giro d’Italia means a lot, he can go and try to win the Vuelta in the future, I don’t know the Tour. His Achilles heel is the stopwatch.

NIBALI PRIDE OF ITALY

Nibali took an unexpected fourth place, even today he arrived there, it’s not like he lost who knows what. Today we won the stage, Nibali is 4th in the standings, Pozzovivo 8th. We always miss the stage race man, but perhaps today we have found a probable winner of one day races. We had been talking about Covi for a long time, he just had to prove it.

THE UNSINKABLE POZZOVIVO

Pozzovivo is a guarantee for seriousness, dedication, strength, experience. He almost seems to die at any moment, then he is always there. A big applause must be given to him, he feels 30 years old and not 39. What penalized him were the accidents. In my opinion we will see him again at the Giro next year.

WILL NIBALI REALLY RETIRE?

In my opinion Nibali does not stop. In the end, reflecting calmly, he could say: “I finished 4th in the Giro, who makes me stop?”. Martinelli told me that he stops, but mine is more of a feeling. He is too young even in his head, after the retirement what would he do?

ITALY FOLLOWS THE LAST SEAL IN THE VERONA TIME TRIAL

With gaps like this, the time trial counts for little for the general classification. I hope Affini can win. In the end, with four stages won, we got away with it. Sobrero could also play it, watch out for De Gendt. Nibali in time trial does not go slow, he could even finish in the 10. There will also be some slightly strange names in the top positions.