And in the end, under the sun of Alleghe, Giulio Ciccone dons the blue jersey of best climber: he took it from Vingegaard by crossing first over the Duran, Coi, Forcella Staulanza passes and especially Giau-Cima Coppi, plus second place on the Falzarego and third at the finish line. The jersey belonged to Vingegaard and he had it on loan, but now it's his. At the finish line he's third behind Kuss and his teammate Gee.

«Today was a stage where those who had it went for it – explains Ciccone, 31 years old, who wore the pink jersey for a day in Cosenza –. On the first climb, the Duran, the pace was incredibly strong, we broke apart immediately. I wasted a lot of energy, I raced for the mountain jersey and to take the points I had to race this way by necessity, I had no choice. I must also say that I was very lucky, I found several riders in the breakaway who helped me like Giulio Pellizzari whom I must thank so much, as well as Bettiol on the first climb».

Pellizzari's acceleration on the Giau and Ciccone's response deserve to be framed: the two Giulios of the national team, side by side, on the Cima Coppi climb.

At the top of the Falzarego there was a clash with Colombian Rubio, who does a flip, beats Ciccone and takes ten points from him in the standings. «Too bad, I didn't want to get upset, but let's say that I really didn't expect that gesture, I just didn't understand it. And from there, let's say the idea came into my head to attack. The plan was already to descend at full speed because we knew it was terrain where we could gain time».

Ciccone launches himself in his own way, gaining hairpin after hairpin, a spectacle: “Out of anger I took a few turns a bit more recklessly”. Giulio explains further: «With Rubio it was about respect and today I think he simply didn't show respect. I think he got angry because maybe he wanted the Red Bull km, but that was a bonus game and it was for the men in the standings (Ciccone's teammate Gee was there, editor's note), I had absolutely nothing to do with it and he took it out on me thinking it was my fault. On the Falzarego climb I made a mistake because I trusted him, but instead he made a move like a small-time rider».