Alessandro Romele came agonizingly close to what would have been one of the most emotional victories of his young career. The rider from Iseo wanted a special win, one to dedicate to Adele, who tragically lost her life in a road accident, and to her brother Gioele. In Córdoba, at the finish of the fifteenth stage of the Vuelta a España, the Italian rider secured a second place of enormous prestige, yielding only to a champion like Wout van Aert.

For Romele, at his first participation in a Grand Tour, this is already his fourth top-10 finish: a result that tells the story of a rider capable of delivering when the race heats up. Today he came incredibly close: in Córdoba, at the end of an extremely hot day that had forced organizers yesterday to shorten the route, the young Italian secured a magnificent second place behind Wout van Aert, that rider he has always admired. 

A performance that means much more than a simple placement. Romele has once again demonstrated that he can compete with riders of absolute top level and, above all, that he has the personality to play his cards even when the finish line approaches.

Extremely emotional after the finish, the XDS Astana rider recounted a day in which the sensations had been positive from the morning.

"Let's say the sensations this morning were very, very good. I tried to anticipate Wout at the intermediate sprint and then I saw he tried to attack – said the Lombard rider - I realized it was a good moment and so we gave our all. I can only be proud of myself, of the work I did. And finishing second behind a monster like Van Aert I believe can only be a super gift".

A result that Romele wanted to share with his family as well, aware of the extraordinary opportunity he is experiencing on Spanish roads. "I also wanted to greet my whole family and take advantage of this fantastic moment a bit".

The emotion was evident. For the rider from Iseo this Vuelta represents his first experience at a Grand Tour, but his performance is going well beyond expectations. With the one in Córdoba, there are now four top-ten finishes to his name. Yet, according to Romele, the real leap in quality came especially from his mind.

"I believe the thing I focused on most was my head. I think that in the last period it has been the thing that gave me a bit more motivation to do well. And I must also thank a very special person, who has been fundamental to me since I was little and who in the last period gave me a bit of a wake-up call, as we say in Italian. And I believe this thing got inside me and bore some fruit".

Words that tell a story of growth not only in sports. Romele is discovering day by day that he can stand alongside the best and, above all, that he can dream.

But the rider does not forget where he came from. "I cannot forget where I started from, so everything that comes from here to the end of the Vuelta is fine with me".

And perhaps this very ability to keep his feet on the ground, despite the results, is one of the most interesting aspects of his Vuelta. Behind the smile and emotion for the second place, however, there is also a much deeper thought.

Romele would have wanted to win so he could dedicate the victory to Adele, the sister of his friend Gioele, who recently died in a road accident. A dedication that the Italian rider has been carrying with him for months and which today, unfortunately, he has not yet managed to achieve.

"It's a shame because today I really would have wanted to dedicate this victory, which however didn't come. For a friend of mine who unfortunately lost his sister in a road accident and I've been wanting for several months to dedicate a victory to her. Unfortunately I haven't managed it yet, but I'm sure this second place will also make Gioele and his sister Adele happy".

It's a sentence that completely changes the meaning of that second place. Because for Romele today there was not just the possibility of beating his opponents: there was the desire to transform a victory into a memory, into a gesture dedicated to a person who is no longer here.

The victory slipped away by just a margin, because ahead of him was Van Aert. But finishing behind a rider of the caliber of the Belgian, on a stage of a Vuelta a España, remains an enormous result nonetheless. "Finishing behind a rider like Van Aert is truly a huge gift".