This is unheard of on a Grand Tour.
At the end of the 20th and penultimate stage, which arrived this Saturday in the Sestriere resort, the first two of the Giro d'Italia are tied for time: the Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart (Inéos), 25 years old and winner of the 'stage which took the final climb three times, and the Australian Jai Hindley (Sunweb), new pink jersey.
The two riders are separated to the hundredth of a second, before the last stage, a 15.7 kilometer time trial in Milan on Sunday.
"I have no words ...", confides the new pink jersey Jai Hindley
"I always dreamed of having the jersey on a Grand Tour, I have no words ..., confides the new 24-year-old leader who dispossesses his teammate Kelderman in the process.
I tried to distance him (Tao Geoghegan Hart) three kilometers from the line, to no avail.
But I am very happy to have this jersey.
"" I have never seen such a small gap on the eve of the final finish, analyzes the former coach of the French team Cyrille Guimard, on the set of the chain of the Team.
We didn't have the impression of seeing the legendary duel Poulidor-Anquetil on the Tour de France in the Puy de Dôme (in 1964) ”.
On the last Tirreno-Adriatico, the two men were separated by ... six seconds on the clock.
Decidedly, this Giro run in the fall due to the Covid-19 pandemic will go down in history, the day after the grumbling of the runners who had obtained a shortened stage on the eve of this triple climb in Sestriere.
The French Arnaud Démare, winner of four stages on this Giro, is certain to bring his cyclamen jersey (of best sprinter) to Milan.