Sappada 87, Roche and Visentini famous duel
part I:
When the Giro de Italia started in Sanremo the 21st of May, 1987, it was clear that team Carrera had a problem with Visentini and Roche.
When the Giro de Italia started in Sanremo the 21st of May, 1987, it was clear that team Carrera had a problem with Visentini and Roche.
The first one was the former winner of the corsa rosa had no results in the season, and Roche had won Romandía and Valencia with good results in all the races he had taken part.
Besides that, Visentini was saying that Roche was focusing in the Tour and that he would help Roche in the French race ... Roche knew that Visentini had booked vacations in a cruise for July.
Vincenzo Torriani had designed a tougher Giro in comparison with the previous years. There were important climbs, such as Pila, Marmolada, Pordoi, Terminillo, San Marco or Bondone. So this time the winner should be a more complete rider.
And what about the participation? There were three very strong teams, and it was supposed that the winner would be one of their cyclists.
Team Carrera with Roche and Visentini.
Team Panasonic with Millar, Winnen, Anderson or even the young Breukink.
Team del Tongo with Saronni, Baronchelli and Giupponi.
Other important riders were Lejarreta, Moreno Argentin, Johan van de Velde, Jean-François Bernard, Steve Bauer or the Italian promise Gianni Bugno.
But the controversy and the attention were in the Carrera team. Davide Boifava tried to convince Roche to help Visentini but the Irish just wanted the strongest legs to decide the leader of the race.
An this exciting Giro started the 21st of May in Sanremo with a prologue.
And the winner and first maglia rosa was Visentini.
Roche just could be ninth, due to problems with his bike, 5 second ahead of Visentini.
The following day was an interesting one with two stages. The first one a 31 kilometer stage from San Remo to San Romolo, and the second a descent trial from Poggio to San Remo.
And that day changed the race. Frstly because Erik Breukink won the first stage taking the rosa, in an exhibition of team Panasonic with four riders in the top5 ( Roche was fourth) and more important, Roche won the trial with Visentini 5th 7" ahead and ten more due to bonus. So even Breukink was still in rosa, Roche was now the best placed favourite, and more importangtly, he was the first placed Carrera rider.
Besides this, Roche was dissapointed with the team because they were very happy with the win of Visentini in the prologue and sad because of Visentini time in the trial instead of delighted by Roche´s win.
These two days were dissapointing for Jean Francoise Bernard that lost nearly two minutes. It was more frustrating than time, Bernard had had two trials (his speciallity) and had performed badly.
The following important test was the team time trial, that Carrera won. Roche was now the leader, the maglia rosa for the first time in his life
And after a transition day, the first mountain finish came, on the Terminillo climb,a regular and long climb that watched Bagot won after a pact with Schepers, Roche´s domestique. Fagor would help Roche in the mountains to keep the pink jersey.
It was a great day for Roche and Carrera. Anderson lost nearly one minute, Saronni 2' and Argentin, one of the finest riders in the race 3'30".
On the other hand Breukink and Rominger were proving themselves as real cotenders for the giro. They were 3rd and eigth overall respectivelly.
Meanwhile Roche was happy with his pink jersey. The relationship between him and Visentini seemed to be good at that moment.
Things were working well for Carrera but...
In the following stage Argentin would win his third stage, he was the strongest in medium mountain stages and he showed his power in Roccaraso.
Two sprint days for Rossola and Freuler and we got to the rest day the 31st of May in Bari. Important things were going to be sorted in the second part of the race. Mountains and time trials. The Dolomites, and the fearsome Marmolada were awaiting.
Falls, treason, emotion, hard stages, ... , the rest day would just be the real start line of the Giro 1987...
An important situation happened in the way to Termoli, a crash in the last kilometre where Roche was involved affected him in the leg and back especially ...
The following day he lost some seconds to Visentini, due to an attack of the Italian in the day of his birthday
...and told the press that he was still suffering due to the crash, and that he would see his form in the time trial of San Marino. It was said in some places that Roche was going to quit the Giro... totally false...
The fourth of June there was a very tough time trial
And Visentini took advantage of Roche´s pains, winning the time trial for nearly 3 minutes to Roche ( who was eleventh) and 1'11" to Rominger who was second, and now third overall. It had been a good day for two dangerous riders. The climbers Millar and Lejarreta performed very well.
There was a new leader, Visentini, and the overall stood like this ...
The Giro seemed to be finished, but Roche was furious and he planned an attack with his mate Scheppers in the day of Sappada, two days after the time trial (they thought that Visentini wasn´t expecting an attack in that stage and he perhaps would be tired of the San Marino stage).
And the sixth of June was the day...
Roche took advantage of an attack of Bagot in Monte Rest and left the bunch on the descent joining Salvador and Bagot who punctured.
Behind them Boifava and Visentini panicked and Carrera chased Roche. Boifava moved to the front to make Roche stop, but the Irish refused, and Carrera continued chasing. The argument between them was terrible, but nobody gave in. What could have been a good moment for Carrera to leave responsability on Gewiss, Panasonic and others, turned into a very polemic moment and stage. The key moment in the Giro.
In the following climb Roche was caught by some contenders like Bernard, Lejarreta or Millar and Carrera exploited.
Visentini had to look for alliances and finally, on the last climb, with Van der Velde in front in a breakaway, the group rejoined...
However, Visentini was not having a good day, and in the last 10 kilometers he lost contact with the favourites.
And in front, van der Velde won the stage, with Roche suffering in the last 5 kilometres, and saving a rosa that Visentini was losing by a ridiculous margin to Rominger, 5 seconds.
Only 5 second separated Roche and Schepers ( who refused in the last climb to help Visentini instead of Roche ) to be expulsed from the giro by the Carrera team.
Visentini arrived at the finish line looking at the podium , and losing nearly 6 minutes to the favourites and nearly 7 to the winner van der Velde ... the Giro was lost for him...
and saying that "someone was leaving the giro that night"... he would not be obeyed.
The press named Roche as Judas, his mechanic as Satan, and Eddy Schepers the rebel. The Giro was going to be hell for them in the rest of the stages.
And the following day there was a terrible stage, that was called "the Marmolada massacre". The stage was very difficult for Roche, who was spitted and insulted during the stage by Italian espectators. Besides that, Visentini attacked him in some occasions, but Roche, who was helped by Millar and Scheppers resisted.
The stage went again to van der Velde , and the most damaged rider was Tony Rominger that lost more than a minute to the "principals".
Rominger would lose more time in the following stage of Riva del Garda, and lost all his options in the way to Madessimo. There were an important mountain stag to Pila and a time trial and Visentini had not surrendered yet.
Jean Francois Bernard who was recovering his sensations , won the stage, with all the favourites, but Rominger, together.
In spite of Visentini, Roche only had one rival on mind, Erik Breukink. Breukink was a good time triallist and he was a threat in Saint-Vincent.
So, in the stage of Pila, on the last climb, Roche forced and dropped Breukink and Visentini , who crashed . Lejarreta and Millar were the only ones to resist.
And finally Millar won the stage and took the second position overall, with Lejarreta third and fourth overall ( the Spaniard would be in pink without the team time trial).
In the podium , Roche was still being insulted, and reacted silencing the tifosi...
That evening Visentini quit, because of the crash, but Roche had the giro won. He would win the last time trial reaffirming his superiority in a very controversial giro.
The final podium was Roche, Millar and Breukink, one Carrera and two Panasonic riders ( Panasonic was the best team with two more riders in the top ten, Anderson and Winnen). The Spanish climber Marino Lejarreta was finally fourth.
Roche had won the giro, later that year he would win the our and the worlds, tying the great Eddy Merckx, that won the triple crown in 1974.
The great Gino Bartali was closed to Roche in the celebration.
A great season that unfortunately Roche couldn´t repeat... injuries and luck had been spent during that magic season. The duel with Visentini would remain in cycling supporters forever... Visentini would never be the same either.
It had been a casuality that after the duel LeMond-Hinault of the 1986 Tour, we had witnessed another duel, a similar one, just months later.
One of the most exciting Giros ever had finished, with a fair champion (in Francesco Moser´s words) that had been supported during the race by the patron Torriani telling him... "Bravo Stefano".
MAGLIA BIANCA
Roberto Conti (a young Italian that years later would win in the most famous climb of the Tour, Alpe d'Huez)
MAGLIA CICLAMINO
Johan Van der Velde
MAGLIA ROSA
Stephen Roche
MAGLIA VERDE
Robert Millar
---
part II:An important situation happened in the way to Termoli, a crash in the last kilometre where Roche was involved affected him in the leg and back especially ...
The following day he lost some seconds to Visentini, due to an attack of the Italian in the day of his birthday
...and told the press that he was still suffering due to the crash, and that he would see his form in the time trial of San Marino. It was said in some places that Roche was going to quit the Giro... totally false...
The fourth of June there was a very tough time trial
And Visentini took advantage of Roche´s pains, winning the time trial for nearly 3 minutes to Roche ( who was eleventh) and 1'11" to Rominger who was second, and now third overall. It had been a good day for two dangerous riders. The climbers Millar and Lejarreta performed very well.
There was a new leader, Visentini, and the overall stood like this ...
The Giro seemed to be finished, but Roche was furious and he planned an attack with his mate Scheppers in the day of Sappada, two days after the time trial (they thought that Visentini wasn´t expecting an attack in that stage and he perhaps would be tired of the San Marino stage).
And the sixth of June was the day...
Roche took advantage of an attack of Bagot in Monte Rest and left the bunch on the descent joining Salvador and Bagot who punctured.
Behind them Boifava and Visentini panicked and Carrera chased Roche. Boifava moved to the front to make Roche stop, but the Irish refused, and Carrera continued chasing. The argument between them was terrible, but nobody gave in. What could have been a good moment for Carrera to leave responsability on Gewiss, Panasonic and others, turned into a very polemic moment and stage. The key moment in the Giro.
In the following climb Roche was caught by some contenders like Bernard, Lejarreta or Millar and Carrera exploited.
Visentini had to look for alliances and finally, on the last climb, with Van der Velde in front in a breakaway, the group rejoined...
However, Visentini was not having a good day, and in the last 10 kilometers he lost contact with the favourites.
And in front, van der Velde won the stage, with Roche suffering in the last 5 kilometres, and saving a rosa that Visentini was losing by a ridiculous margin to Rominger, 5 seconds.
Only 5 second separated Roche and Schepers ( who refused in the last climb to help Visentini instead of Roche ) to be expulsed from the giro by the Carrera team.
Visentini arrived at the finish line looking at the podium , and losing nearly 6 minutes to the favourites and nearly 7 to the winner van der Velde ... the Giro was lost for him...
and saying that "someone was leaving the giro that night"... he would not be obeyed.
The press named Roche as Judas, his mechanic as Satan, and Eddy Schepers the rebel. The Giro was going to be hell for them in the rest of the stages.
And the following day there was a terrible stage, that was called "the Marmolada massacre". The stage was very difficult for Roche, who was spitted and insulted during the stage by Italian espectators. Besides that, Visentini attacked him in some occasions, but Roche, who was helped by Millar and Scheppers resisted.
The stage went again to van der Velde , and the most damaged rider was Tony Rominger that lost more than a minute to the "principals".
Rominger would lose more time in the following stage of Riva del Garda, and lost all his options in the way to Madessimo. There were an important mountain stag to Pila and a time trial and Visentini had not surrendered yet.
Jean Francois Bernard who was recovering his sensations , won the stage, with all the favourites, but Rominger, together.
In spite of Visentini, Roche only had one rival on mind, Erik Breukink. Breukink was a good time triallist and he was a threat in Saint-Vincent.
So, in the stage of Pila, on the last climb, Roche forced and dropped Breukink and Visentini , who crashed . Lejarreta and Millar were the only ones to resist.
And finally Millar won the stage and took the second position overall, with Lejarreta third and fourth overall ( the Spaniard would be in pink without the team time trial).
In the podium , Roche was still being insulted, and reacted silencing the tifosi...
That evening Visentini quit, because of the crash, but Roche had the giro won. He would win the last time trial reaffirming his superiority in a very controversial giro.
The final podium was Roche, Millar and Breukink, one Carrera and two Panasonic riders ( Panasonic was the best team with two more riders in the top ten, Anderson and Winnen). The Spanish climber Marino Lejarreta was finally fourth.
Roche had won the giro, later that year he would win the our and the worlds, tying the great Eddy Merckx, that won the triple crown in 1974.
The great Gino Bartali was closed to Roche in the celebration.
A great season that unfortunately Roche couldn´t repeat... injuries and luck had been spent during that magic season. The duel with Visentini would remain in cycling supporters forever... Visentini would never be the same either.
It had been a casuality that after the duel LeMond-Hinault of the 1986 Tour, we had witnessed another duel, a similar one, just months later.
One of the most exciting Giros ever had finished, with a fair champion (in Francesco Moser´s words) that had been supported during the race by the patron Torriani telling him... "Bravo Stefano".
MAGLIA BIANCA
Roberto Conti (a young Italian that years later would win in the most famous climb of the Tour, Alpe d'Huez)
MAGLIA CICLAMINO
Johan Van der Velde
MAGLIA ROSA
Stephen Roche
MAGLIA VERDE
Robert Millar
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