The Stage
Today’s stage was a 28 km individual time trial to Pisa from Lucca, through the Tuscan countryside. Time trials are referred to as the “race of truth” because each rider is on their own for the course, without teammates to lean on. This makes sense in theory, but in reality time trials can favor teams with the most money who can afford to buy the most aerodynamic equipment and spend money on research and development.
Moreover, in the real world different factors can come into play that affect race outcomes, like headwinds and rain. Typically though, a time trial, especially a long one, can matter a lot for the GC, and favors time trial specialists.
Today’s stage showed both things to be true. Daan Hoole, a Dutch time trial special on Lidl-Trek won the day’s stage. However, heavy rains fell over the course in the final third of the day, affecting the GC riders.
The way a time trial works is that the riders go out on the course, staggered in 1-minute intervals in the beginning and then in 3-minute intervals later in the day, in reverse-order of the general classification. This means the rider with the best time in the GC, in today’s case Isaac del Toro, is the last to ride. Daan Hoole was one of the earlier riders, since he was 129th in the GC at the start of today’s stage. This meant he had good weather during his ride.
The GC contenders had to do their rides after heavy rains, meaning that riders who would usually contest the stage win had to slow down to avoid accidents on the course. However, the GC riders all had to deal with rain, so the conditions were roughly equitable amongst them, but the course did shake up the relative position of riders in the top 10, with Primoz Roglic climbing up 5 positions. While, Isaac del Toro kept the pink leader’s jersey for at least one more day, his team, UAE Emirates, is likely still riding for Juan Ayuso as their leader for the Giro overall.
The Dish & Reflections
Today, I found a Tuscan recipe for wine-braised pork chops. This was yummy and easy. It called for a Chianti to cook the pork chops in (unsurprising as Chianti is a Tuscan red wine), and they were seasoned with some freshly ground fennel seeds and garlic. The flavors weren’t dissimilar to a pork sausage, in a good way! I paired it with rice because it’s easy. The wine turned the pork chops dark and made them look almost steak-like. But this is definitely a meal I would add into my rotation!
Until tomorrow’s hilly stage!