One week after the “Grande Partenza” in Bulgaria, the Giro d’Italia is finally about to open the chapter of the GC contenders. Two summit finishes are indeed on the agenda this weekend: Friday at Blockhaus, and Sunday at Corno alle Scale. Before these two key appointments, Josh Kench remains on the same time as the main GC favourites after completing the demanding fourth and fifth stages alongside them. In Naples this Thursday, however, Paul Penhoët (16th) was unable to sprint for a top position.
An unusual route awaited the riders on Tuesday as racing resumed on Italian soil. From Catanzaro to Cosenza, in Calabria, the stage was short (138 kilometres), but spiced up by the ascent of Cozzo Tunno (14 km at 6%) with 60 kilometres to go. As a result, there was some uncertainty about how the day would unfold. “The goal was to get into the breakaway because it was unclear who would control the race,” explained William Green. “Johan managed to make it, but unfortunately he ended up there with Rafferty, who was too close on GC for the peloton to allow them much time. We knew Paul would probably struggle on the climb, but we still didn’t expect the pace to be so high. In the end, Josh was our only rider to finish in the front group, which shows how hard the ascent was. Axel tested himself for the first time on a long climb, but after twenty minutes it became too hard.” At the finish, Jhonatan Narvaez won a sprint from a group of barely forty riders, while Josh Kench claimed 23rd place on the day.
“Everyone is ready to give 110%” – William Green
On Wednesday, the New Zealander once again stayed with the favourites on the way to Potenza during a stage featuring 3,700 metres of climbing, though under completely different circumstances. “It was without doubt one of the worst days on the bike I’ve ever witnessed,” said William. “There was rain, cold, and even hail at one point. On top of that, there were quite a few climbs. Rémy tried to go early on the first one, then the breakaway formed, and it became difficult for us to be there. We tried to manage the riders’ clothing as best we could, which we did quite well. Before the final climb, Axel and Johan did a great job positioning Josh, and then he did his thing. He wasn’t feeling great, but he managed to hang on.” At the end of this epic stage, the 25-year-old rider sat 26th overall, before a less exhausting day towards Naples awaited the peloton on Thursday. After 141 kilometres, the expected bunch sprint took shape, but it did not unfold as Paul Penhoët and his teammates had hoped. “Rémi Cavagna did a great job,” added William. “Johan took over shortly afterwards, and we were in a pretty good position up until two kilometres to go. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to move back up after that. We’re really disappointed, and not because of the crash in the final corner, because the reality is that we weren’t well positioned enough to fight for the win.”
While Davide Ballerini emerged victorious from a chaotic final kilometre, Paul Penhoët had to settle for 16th place. Three hilly stages now await before the rest day. “The weekend looks exciting,” concluded William. “We’re really looking forward to Josh’s first true mountain test tomorrow, and it will tell us more about the team’s next two weeks at the Giro. He has definitely taken a major step forward moving from the Asia Tour to the WorldTour, and even to his first Grand Tour. We expected he might lose some time in the opening stages, and we didn’t want to take any risks. In the end, with no pressure on him, he hasn’t lost any time at all. The general classification is not a priority for now; there are still many unknowns, and he’ll already get the chance to measure himself against the very best on Blockhaus. Saturday’s eighth stage has a very interesting profile that could suit several riders on the team. On Sunday, we’ll have another summit finish, which on paper suits Josh’s characteristics even better. In any case, everyone has recovered well from the crash and is ready to give 110% to seize every opportunity. Rémi Cavagna is feeling better and better every day and already has his sights set on the time trial.”
