It's already a different way of thinking. The Giro raises its head and with a beautiful finale hands the pink jersey to Ciccone, a name befitting prestige, not because he's Italian (come on, we're not that petty), but because he's nonetheless a respectable rider on the world circuit (warmest greetings to Silva and Uruguay, who brought color and warmth, but not exactly enormous prestige).

So, we start again with the usual tune. Let's put our hearts at ease and prepare ourselves for the renewal of the eternal dilemma: Ciccone think about the general classification, Ciccone forget the general classification and focus on stage wins. We've been dragging this dilemma along for years, him first among the rest, without ever finding an answer. And meanwhile he's turned 31 (and a half). But there's nothing like this pink jersey, the first of his life, to stoke the fire again. The big question immediately rises high, at least from Italy's national-popular perspective: if not now, when? Aided by the desperate hunger of the cycling nation, seeing Cicco at the top of the general classification is an event too tempting not to fall into temptation. The temptation to tell him Cicco, now or never, push on and take it to Rome, why not. Never mortify dreams, never put a speed limiter on ambition. I must say that he's currently wearing pink with the most appropriate posture: "I've dreamed of this jersey since I was a child, I dreamed of wearing it even just for one day. I've dreamed of it since my first Giro, in 2016. It took ten years, you can imagine how much it means to me now. It's a moment I want to savor to the fullest, I'll think about the rest starting tomorrow...".

From tomorrow on, he'll need to decide again what to do when he grows up: resign himself to the lack of endurance over three weeks, as has happened punctually, and pursue good daily results (see Liège, see Lombardy), or seize this opportunity and start over with a career in the grand tours. The occasion is decidedly favorable: if he had the obsession before, back in the days of regular setbacks, it's very legitimate to have it again now, with the pink jersey on his back. I call upon the historical lexicon of the Giro, that famous idea confirmed many times by so many unexpected pink jerseys, "this jersey gives you wings". Why not, then. Why hold back. Starting fresh as number one, without Pogacar in the way, Ciccone's great Giro could truly emerge. God willing. He must be the first to believe in it. It's a temptation that carries undeniable veins of madness, but it's an irresistible temptation. And as Oscar Wilde said, "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it".

Will he—would he—withstand the demands and pressures of being the leader hunted by everyone, the Ciccone of full maturity? Does he have the stature for the task? No beating around the bush: there's nothing like this pink jersey to put him definitively to the test. Of course, prudence is needed, with a handful of appropriate precautionary measures. The first, the most important: take it one day at a time. Starting from Potenza, then seeking confirmations and reassurances especially on Thursday on (his) Blockhaus. As a premise, Cicco rightly plays the Christian Democrat à la Remo Gaspari, saying the team is all for Milan, that Gee wants his space, that Vingegaard will fire his first shots precisely on Thursday, and so on and so forth. All according to orthodox liturgy. All exemplary for someone who must avoid the boasting of youth and concentrate on the wise management of himself. All true and all right. There's really a one-in-a-hundred chance of winning, with Vingegaard in the Giro. As he says, it's necessary to "be realistic". It's the moment to speak well and think right.

However, we Italians with our backward hunger can all say something: the team cannot throw away such an opportunity, such a Ciccone. Even if it's an investment of madness, it's one of those investments that deserves madness. When will we ever get another Ciccone like this. If it turns out to be another setback, it will at least be a setback without regrets. It's always better to have a regret than a remorse.