For everyone, an attack 38 kilometers from the finish would have been madness, but not for Christian Bagatin, who today in the fifth stage of the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai accomplished a true feat. On one of the coldest days in the history of the Chinese race, the rider from Varese at team MBH Bank CSN Telecom Fort secured his second victory of the season with an action that even he wouldn't have imagined pulling off.

"Honestly, I don't quite know how I did it, those last 38 kilometers were endless. I already had the idea of trying to attack in my head, in the leading group I was one of the few not in the general classification and I wanted to go, I was too cold. I immediately took a good advantage, but at first I didn't believe it, I started to understand I could make it when 2 km away there was a long straightaway, I turned around and there was no one there. Everything that happened is absurd, something similar happened to me in Turkey and I realized I have a good ability to manage myself, but sometimes this can be a bad thing because there's the risk of never being able to go all out. Today I didn't even look at the Watts, I literally went by feel, I told myself 'I go, if they catch me I've at least tried to give my best'." Christian told tuttobicieb, still in disbelief. Meanwhile, crowds gathered all around for this great occasion. Under annoying rain, the public watched his feat on the big screen, remaining open-mouthed also because here seeing a rider's arrival is more rare than unique.

On a cold day like this, it was essential to cover up as soon as possible, and unlike his opponents, Bagatin managed to do so before the mountain pass, thus managing to resist the extremely low temperatures. The first part of the stage was anything but simple, with heavy rain and a climb of over 30 km, the rider from Varese managed to conserve his energy well and get into the race dynamics. "I arrived in China after a period at altitude, I had good legs, but in the second stage I had stomach problems and lost a lot of ground. Already yesterday I started feeling better, I achieved a sixth place that really motivated me," Bagatin explained. "The climb was about 30 km long, I tried to go at my pace and about 3 km from the mountain pass I rejoined the group that was chasing the two Astana riders. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to put on my rain cape, I don't know how I did it because I couldn't feel my arms, but it was fundamental. When we were down to 6 riders up front, I immediately noticed that my opponents were shaking from the cold, I was doing quite well overall. Zamparella, my directeur sportif, told me to push straight ahead and that's what I did."

Today's performance can be compared to a true feat, a triumphant solo arrival achieved in a way that defies all logic. This victory immediately reminds us of the one he pulled off in Turkey, where a breakaway born by chance had led him to his first seasonal success. Two victories, two acts of madness that raise a spontaneous question: hasn't Christian developed a taste for this? "What's happening is truly absurd, last year between the elite and under 23 categories I had never won, and yet this year I have two 2.pro victories. In this season I'm much more relaxed, I follow the flow of moments, but above all I've matured a lot. Training hasn't changed much, but last year was tough mentally, and the move to a professional team certainly helped. In the squad we all have a different mentality. I'm still in disbelief, these are two victories that came literally out of nowhere, it seems I'll need to specialize in this," Bagatin continues jokingly, but it's clear that this year there has been a real leap in quality and these two victories seem to be just the beginning of something much bigger.

The atmosphere in the team is serene, and the rider from Varese has finally found his role both as a domestique for his teammates and as a free agent ready for any madness. After a sixth place yesterday and today's victory, Christian's trip to China will certainly be a memory he'll hold dear as he awaits accomplishing another improbable feat.