But where are they, where are they hiding, those who just two years ago despised the Giro because some guy was slaughtering it without mercy, in every way, far and wide, high and low.

You don't need an elephant's memory to recall the outrage of that faction, enough of this Pogacar, how boring, what monotony, what kind of cycling is this. They cried like calves and yearned for Giros of balance, Giros of fake democracy, all equal at the finish line of my heart, and the solution obviously at the end, preferably in the final meters of the last stage, sublime that one with Roglic who after playing house with Thomas for twenty days decided to win in the final Friuli time trial. Those are fun Giros, full of suspense and spectacle, the best – or the least bad – spending all day in procession and then a little sprint for the final bonus.

But look at what a mess this Pogacar is: he wins six stages, wins the mountains classification, worse still he leaves nothing for the others, that's not how a champion races (sure, look at Merckx, a heart of gold with his rivals), a true champion knows how to make friends by conceding something to everyone, you'll see when he's in trouble, he'll pay for it all, there won't be anyone willing to give him a hand, of course, because usually when you go slow your opponents wait for you and maybe they take you on a boat ride, see for example how they waited for Pellizzari in this Swiss stage...

Where are they now, the bored ones who couldn't take any more of Pogacar, his solo attacks, his attacks in the pink jersey, his tendency to give in, to spend himself, to give himself away, honoring the Giro and especially its public. Where are they now that we're witnessing a Giro in duplicate, a Giro of absolute and ruthless monopoly, with another guy who wins punctually on all the mountain finishes, currently four out of four, with the prospect of tying at six with the other tyrant, anyway without him either making gifts and concessions to the competition, selfish and cruel, you'll see how he'll pay for it all, sooner or later...

Are they hiding in the bushes? Or are they still all here, this time disguised as enthusiastic fans, but look what a beautiful Giro, but look how strong Vingegaard is, but look how he honors Italy and Italians, without taking it easy, without getting comfortable and living off past glories, now that's what you call being a champion.

Strange, all very strange. That time Teddy had gotten on everyone's nerves, this time Vinge is finding a country in adoration that contemplates the unique spectacle of an unbeatable champion, better, beatable only by one other, just one, certainly not by these guys, incapable of even dropping his gregario Piganzoli exhausted by grueling work.

I don't know what changed, but I have an idea. Given that this time too I choose the Giro dominated by a true champion, because it gives us unique spectacles, at the rhythm of attacks and records on all the mountains, and before that because in the face of the exceptional you must know how to grasp the difference and enjoy it to the fullest, given this I have the impression that everything is much simpler: perhaps, it would be enough to say that Teddy isn't likeable because he's number one, while Vinge is very likeable, like all number twos. And that's that.