The black jerseys: the last in the general classification, the first in the sentimental standings. Because the black jerseys belong to the domestiques, in perpetual struggle with the time limit and minimal energy reserves. The most human and the most humble. The most like us. The seventh installment is dedicated to Nicolas Dalla Valle, last in 2023.

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He took hold of the black jersey on the Bondone. It was the sixteenth stage of the 2023 Giro d'Italia, the Sabbio Chiese-Monte Bondone covering 203 km: Nicolas Dalla Valle outpaced the group of sprinters (Consonni, Gaviria and Torres), 51'25" behind the stage winner, Portuguese rider Joao Almeida, and plummeted to one hundred twenty-eighth and last place in the general classification, 3 hours 55'36" behind the pink jersey wearer, Welsh rider Geraint Thomas.

Then, what about Dalla Valle?

“Not then, but before. You need to know that nobody from our team, Corratec, was sure they could race the Giro, except Valerio Conti. The selection was announced two weeks before, and for me, among the eight chosen, it was an immense joy. The more days passed, the more the emotion grew, but also the desire, right up to the day of departure, bib number 172, the individual time trial in Abruzzo, on the Costa dei Trabocchi. That Giro was, everyone said so, one of the hardest for its elevation profile. Despite crashes and ailments, I wanted to finish it at all costs. I kept my word. And I arrived in Rome. But without ever looking at the standings”.

Really?

“At the beginning I was looking for a breakaway, dreaming of a stage win. Not easy at all. However, at the fifth stage, arriving in Salerno, in the rain and with slippery roads, in the general chaos, jumping from wheel to wheel and managing on my own because that's what you do when you don't have your own train, I threw myself headfirst and finished fifth. A fantastic result if I think that first was American Groves, and that was the best day of his career as a rider, second was Milan, third Pedersen and fourth Cavendish. Then on the mountains I tried to save myself. Little by little, with retirements and abandonments, in the end more than 50, I approached the bottom. Joking, but not entirely, in the final days my friend Alberto Dainese was giving me competition. I had almost three minutes on him. A minimal gap. I finished one hundred twenty-fourth and last, almost five and a half hours behind Primoz Roglic. Translated into kilometers per hour, at an average of 39 and a half, that means roughly 220 km. More than a stage”.

Were you ever afraid of finishing outside the time limit?

“My friend Max Richeze, 18 years as a professional and also two stage wins at the Giro d'Italia, guided me, advised me, accompanied me. In the evening, on the phone, from home. Especially on how to measure my strength and how to manage myself on the mountain stages. On the Bondone stage I went on the attack, so I anticipated the group, then I was caught, but without disappearing”.

Would you ever have said it?

“My first bike, a Stocchero, a shop in Marostica, when I was seven years old. My first race as a G3 rider, and since it was my first time, I didn't know how to race: the group was in the center of the road, me alone on the right or left edge because following wheels scared me. My first victory, after about ten races, still as a G3 rider, in a sprint: and it was the race organized by my cycling club, so it counted double. From that day on, category after category, year after year, the dream of becoming a professional and racing a Giro d'Italia became a hope, then a project, and then reality”.

Was there a black jersey?

“Unfortunately not. The title was only symbolic. But one day the people from Mitica called me, the historic cycling event held in the places of Fausto Coppi. From them I received a special black jersey in memory of Luigi Malabrocca, who back in the days of Coppi and Bartali raced to finish last. I didn't know his story, a story that seems like a fairy tale. What an honor to be part of the Malabrocca team”.

Dalla Valle, what has cycling given you?

“Friendships and acquaintances, human and geographical knowledge. I've also raced in China and Hong Kong, in Saudi Arabia and throughout Europe. Then discipline and education, especially respect, for myself, for my teammates and opponents, the technical staff and others, respect starting with punctuality. Cycling, in some ways, is a bit like military service: it teaches you how to be in the world. And what cycling gives you, one life won't give you. Maybe not even two or three”.