First German stage victory: Nico Denz and the enormous will performance at the Giro

Radprofi Nico Denz gets the first German stage victory at the Giro, saving the tour of Italy for his team. German cycling also provided a lot of relief.

A scream of joy, a cry of relief escaped the lips of Nico Denz when he fell into his supervisors at the finish of the 18th stage of this Giro d’Italia. Because he had made it, had won another stage again, his third on the tour of Italy, but probably also his most emotional.

“No stage victory comes without use. I had to spend a lot of energy for all three. This is perhaps the most stirring. When I pass the finish line, I noticed how special it is”he later said at the press conference.

“After all the setbacks we had, with the loss of Jai and Primoz, that’s just fantastic for me”he alluded to the fall of the two former Giro winners and nominal Red Bull captains Jai Hindley and Primoz Roglic.

Moral low point according to Roglic-Aus

Denz confessed that the days were very difficult for the entire team, especially after Roglic had left. “Not only did a driver go home. Dreams also simply dissolved”he described the situation. “We worked so much for this giro. And in the end everything was in vain. You can then sink into mourning and do nothing more. Or you can make a decision. And we have done that. In the past few days with Giulio Pellizzari, and even today. And in the coming days we will do that too”he said.

Denz had been determined since the start of the stage to go into the group. He made it too. There were 34 drivers in the group, including the world -class printer Kaden Garroves and Mads Pedersen. Denz knew that if he wanted a chance to win the stage, he had to blow up the group.

When a small group jumped away from the group, he was there, “Fuga della Fuga” called the Italians, which is well aware of the denz, the grandparents in the basilicata. 18 kilometers before the finish, in a section full of curves, he then stopped from the small group.

“The group did not work well before. Some people left tours and tried to hide. When I came around this curve, I saw that I had a small lead. I then sprinted, saw that the gap did not go and then just gambled. I put everything on this card”he described the crucial moment. He expanded his leadership for pedal development.

Wages was his third stage win at the Giro as a whole, the first for his team on this tour of Italy and also the first of a German cyclist. Florian Stork was with a stage rank 2, also from an escape group, so far the closest turn on

300. Victory for the racing team

Denz’s victory is even an anniversary victory for his team. “It is the 300th overall for the team. And it is something special that I get him as a helper,” he said.
Denz thus underlined his qualities again. In the team he is the road captain, the extended arm of the sporty management.

Every year he is good for a win, a big one even. He won two stage wins at the Giro 2023. Inserting Seven victories are available for him in eleven years of professional. That makes every success special. In the next few days, however, Denz will put himself in the service of the team again.

“We can now breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the Giro”

“We will continue to fight. And Giulio will get all the support that we can give in the next two days”He alluded to young star Pellizzari, who has already reached a third stage place at this Giro. He would only be able to help the climber at the very beginning of the mountain stages, he restricted. The value of his victory for the racing team can hardly be underestimated. Because the most important sub -goal after the Roglic exit has been achieved. “We can now breathe a sigh of relief, freely and enjoy this giro”he announced as a program for the last three Giro days.

German cycling also provided a lot of relief. Because except for Stork in the outlier group and strong performance by Tobias Steinhauser as helpers of the overall – and today’s birthday child – Richard Carapaz was little to see from the German delegation. Denz also changed that, with enormous will.