Historical past all however repeated itself on the Giro d’Italia’s ascent of the Gran Sasso on Friday when Davide Bais clinched his first-ever victory for Eolo-Kometa. It was a victory which had distinct echoes of his teammate Lorenzo Fortunato’s surprising triumph on the equally prestigious Zoncolan ascent within the 2021 version.
Simply as was the case for Fortunato two years in the past, Bais’ victory on the Sasso was his first-ever win as a professional, got here out of a fractured breakaway transfer, and offered a well-deserved triumph for one of many few non-WorldTour groups on this yr’s Giro.
Bais is 25, too, the identical age as Fortunato when he gained on the Zoncolan again in 2021.
Nicely-known as a breakaway specialist – he was in at least 4 strikes in Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this yr – Davide shouldn’t be the one member of the Bais household racing within the Giro this yr. His elder brother, Mattia, can be within the Eolo-Kometa corsa rosa lineup
Bais not solely netted his first-ever professional triumph in his crew’s greatest race of the season after he simply outsprinted Karel Vacek (Corratec-Selle Italia) and Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) on the summit of the Sasso.
He has additionally ousted Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) from the lead within the mountains classification, and as he mentioned afterwards, his authentic goal within the break was to choose up factors in that exact rating. However then issues turned out even higher than he might dare hope.
“I noticed the break was going to stay, and so I stayed with it to see what might occur,” Bais mentioned about getting in a break that was shaped very early on within the mammoth 218-kilometre stage.
“The final 4 to 5 kilometres have been one of the best moments of all of the stage, I attempted to maintain the opposite guys within the break shut once they attacked as a result of I knew my greatest choices have been to strive for the win with a dash,” he mentioned.
“I stayed as calm as I might all the best way up the climb, listened laborious to what my administrators instructed me over the radio and remembered to maintain consuming so I wouldn’t crack on the final minute.”
A part of the Eolo-Kometa crew because it moved as much as the Professional Conti degree in 2021 and with a great efficiency within the 2020 U23 Giro d’Italia displaying that his future lay in stage racing, Davide Bais’ brother Matteo, a yr older, joined the identical squad this winter. Just a few months later, they have been each chosen to race the Giro d’Italia.
“It’s unbelievable to be with him within the Giro and much more so to have him in the identical crew,” Bais mentioned. “We have now an important relationship, and I’m certain he’ll be up there on the assault within the days to return.
“We’re very comparable as racers, at all times making an attempt to get into breaks. The one distinction is our peak and our age.”
Bais devoted the win to a different Eolo-Kometa teammate, whom he mentioned is “presently preventing a really troublesome battle. Arturo Gravalos, this victory is for you.”
Trying forward, Bais is now within the lead of the mountains classification, with a hefty 26-point benefit over Pinot, and he says the subsequent objective might be to attempt to defend his prime spot within the days to return.
“It’ll be troublesome, there are some very massive names on the market within the working,” Bais mentioned, “however we’ll do our greatest and see how far we will go.”
