Distanced three kilometres from the summit of Pian del Falco on stage 10 of the Giro d'Italia, Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-QuickStep) scrambled down the descent with the recklessness of a man desperate to keep a hold of his maglia rosa.
Certainly, that was the assumption of his teammate Bob Jungels, who had started the day just a second behind on general classification. When Brambilla latched back on to the group of favourites at the base of the descent, Jungels simply presumed it would be a case of each man for himself on the final haul to Sestola.
Andrey Amador (Movistar) – third on GC, just 32 seconds back – had slipped up the road alone on the descent, however, and was now the virtual overall leader. As the road reared upwards towards the summit, Brambilla opted to take matters in hand and make the ultimate sacrifice. Without waiting to be drafted, the maglia rosa enlisted as a deluxe domestique.
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For the bones of three kilometres, Brambilla pulled on the front of the chasing group, before eventually swinging off with a little over two kilometres remaining. His effort helped to stem Amador's advance, while the accelerations of the favourites in the final kilometre almost pegged back the Costa Rican altogether. Jungels hung tight to finish with them to inherit the overall lead from his teammate Brambilla.
"In the end, it was Brambilla's idea when he came back on after the second last climb. He probably saw that I was stronger on the climbs and he decided for himself when Amador attacked," Jungels said afterwards. "Nobody said anything on the radio. It was a very special decision that he took, it's something we haven't seen a lot in cycling."
Brambilla was cheered heartily as he eventually inched up the final ramps to the finish at Sestola, more than a minute down on Jungels, and some 3:27 behind stage winner Giulio Ciccone (Bardiani-CSF). On reaching the finish, a soigneur draped an Etixx-QuickStep jacket over Brambilla's shoulders, but his pink jersey was still showing as he spoke to reporters just past the line.
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