‘It means a lot to honour Pantani’ says local boy turned breakaway baroudeur Andrea Piccolo

Hailing from the Lombard town of Magenta, Andrea Piccolo needed no reminder of the importance of the stage 2 summit finish atop the Santuario di Oropa at the Giro d’Italia. Knowing the climb well, EF Education-EasyPost’s young Italian had been desperate to earn his way into the day’s breakaway on Sunday.

Once there, the 23-year-old made the most of his 147km out front, sweeping up maximum KOM points over a pair of category 3 climbs and spending the last 45.5km of that effort alone as the final survivor of the day’s breakaway. Halfway up the climb to the finish, his number was called and the peloton brought an end to his adventure.

“It was a big afternoon,” he told GCN with a beaming smile just beyond the finish line.

“Of course, for me it was a really nice place, I live near here and we knew that it was a hard day to arrive at the finish with the breakaway. But we tried, I felt very good and I am very happy for my performance.”

The Santuario di Oropa bore witness to one of Italy’s biggest moments of triumphs at their home Grand Tour back in 1999. Just days before he would ultimately leave the race in disgrace, the beloved Marco Pantani produced a sensational ride to recover from early misfortune, pass 49 riders in a blaze of vengeance and conquer stage 15 of that year’s race.

25 years on from that memorable day in Biella, the steep, twisting lanes rising to Oropa from all corners of the mountainside were covered in the words PANTANI, painted onto the concrete in an assortment of colours, but most often pink - for the Giro’s maglia rosa - and yellow - for Pantani’s iconic Mercatone Uno-Bianchi kit.

Read more: Giro d'Italia stage 2: Tadej Pogačar takes first summit finish and maglia rosa

As one of northern Italy’s most promising sons, Piccolo carried the green, white and red flag with aplomb as he braved such a daring attack on the second stage. It was a move that felt only natural in the spirit of the Pantani stage win anniversary.

“For us, it means a lot and I don’t need to say nothing more, it means a lot to me. Of course we could honour him.”

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In the foreground, Tadej Pogačar rides to stage victory. In the background, a jubilant fan pays his own homage to Marco Pantani, sunglasses and all

Riding his way into the day’s breakaway after just 10km, Piccolo would spend almost the entire stage off the front of the race. Having been part of the five-rider breakaway, Piccolo forged his own path with 52km still to ride, to the delight of the EF Education-EasyPost media team in position at the finish.

The American WorldTeam are at the Giro d’Italia chasing stage wins, UCI points and, as ever, the opportunity to leave their indelible, characteristic mark on the race.

Read more: EF Education-EasyPost reveal Giro d'Italia changeout kit

Such was the excitement at the hilltop commune of Oropa that between seeking out the cutest dogs at roadside, naturally, and filming the continuing echos of “vai Andrea” from the tifosi, the EF media team had to make a late dash to their team car in search of a new memory card. With their cameras back in action once more, they were on hand to capture the cheery reunion between Esteban Chaves and his teammate Piccolo after the finish.

The acclaim of Chaves was well earned by the Italian, who rode strongly over the day’s three categorised climbs and had the local crowd dreaming of a monumental upset. Although it was not to be for Piccolo and EF Education-EasyPost in the end - with the Italian caught some 6.5km shy of the summit - the 24-year-old could be more than happy with his day’s work.

“We did all day in the front but I’m very happy for that, I had a good feeling on the bike and I tried to give my all on this road. Of course, I knew that UAE were controlling the race behind but I tried.”

His words short but sweet, Piccolo’s pride was clear for all to see as he soaked in the moment beyond the finish. His day would end not on the podium, as he had hoped, but in the congratulatory arms of his teammates nonetheless. It may be a day or two before the young star’s smile abates.

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