161 km full of pitfalls, with five climbs scattered along the way. Forcella Cibiana and Coi in the finale before the uphill finish in Palafavera. Friday the arrival at the Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Filippo Zana (Team Jayco AlUla) won the eighteenth stage of the 106th Giro d'Italia, the Oderzo-Val di Zoldo of 161 km.

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They finished second and third respectively Thibaut Pinot (Groupama – FDJ) e Warren Barguil (Team Arkéa Samsic).

« I still don't believe it. I have to thank the team because they gave me this opportunity,” said the winner. I arrived at the Giro 100%. At the end I played my cards , it was one of those opportunities that happen a few times in a lifetime and I took advantage of it. Winning with the tricolor jersey is special ».

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) retains the Pink sweater of leader of the General Classification.

The Pink sweater Geraint Thomas immediately after arrival he declared: that ' it was a good day . I was feeling pretty good, although Primoz was really strong. It wasn't easy to follow. To win the Giro you have to be consistent and up until now I've always been ».

Tomorrow colossal big stage with five GPM and grand finale on Three peaks of Lavaredo ten years after the victory of Vincent Nibali under the snow.

Giro-E, the “legbreaking” stage

Stage legbreaker , the first of two. The high mountains have arrived and we need to be brave. But let's not exaggerate, with a few hundred more watts supplied by the engine it's a pleasure to go up, just keep it at maximum.

I am 51 kilometers for 1,650 meters in altitude . All concentrated in the last 45 of the stage of the Giro d'Italia, which is really very tough. As a reward, a nice ice cream in Val di Zoldo, famous all over the world for this very reason.

The Belluno – Val di Zoldo stage

The start on pedals, then a transfer by bus, then again and finally by bike, to Tai di Cadore.

From here the climbs begin : Before Forcella Cibiana, then the Val di Zoldo with two Mountain Grands Prix in the last 15 kilometers of the stage.

Equally enchanting is the starting point of stage number 18 of the Giro-E 2023, Belluno . Running is wonderful, he wrote in his reports on Corriere della Sera dal Giro d'Italia 1949 Dino Buzzati , one of its illustrious citizens.

The author of the Desert of the Tartars he loved his land very much, the Valbelluna that divides the Pre-Alps from the Alps, crossed by 'la Piave', a female river in the local tradition and dialect.

The city dedicated him the Buzzati Itinerary, which touches the most important places in the center, from the historic Piazza dei Martiri to the Palazzo dei Rettori of 1536. However, Buzzati was fascinated by the « mysterious mountains, long winters, fairy tales, the spirits of caves and woods , that untranslatable sense of distance, solitude and legend».

Here then is it Riserva Naturale di Somadida , The Misurina lake and the Buzzati trail , where the writer strolled, feasible both on foot and by bicycle, starting from the municipality of Limana. Nearby is Villa Buzzati, in San Pellegrino, the family home since 1811: today the great-granddaughter has transformed part of it into a B&B.

The character of the day – Giuseppe Bica

Captain of the RCS Sport Team and ambassador of Lombardo Bikes (bike supplier for both RCS Sport and the Enel X Way team), Giuseppe Bica has become one of the pillars of the Giro-E 2023 , thanks to a lot of sympathy and a verve that never fails.

Joseph Bica

'And why I enjoy working hard ', explains. « I do what I like to do : I pedal, I see the most beautiful Italy and I meet a lot of people. What more could I want?'

The Giro-E «is a festival, a traveling show, beautiful . I also talk about it on social media, with videos that start in the morning when we have breakfast and end when we arrive at the hotel».

He feels «biased, but the truth is that the bikes ride very well . There are bikes that have more powerful engines, larger batteries. But I like the style, I'm an aesthete , and I wouldn't trade it for any other pedal assisted bike in the world, even if it had three times the battery».

It's a bit like ' a girl who goes out in winter with a miniskirt: she feels cold, but she is beautiful ».

Source: oggi.it