The Pain and the Glory: The Official Team Sky Diary of the Giro Campaign and Tour Victory. Chris Froome

       STAGE 14

      Che sorpresa! The weather played havoc on the first of the two scheduled back-to-back summit finishes, forcing the organisers to cancel the climb to the ski resort of Sestriere, re-routing it further along the Val di Susa. Dense low cloud affected visibility, grounding the helicopters that provide a buzz of excitement over the peloton as they relay aerial shots for television. Rigged up in wet-weather gear, the riders endured a damp, soggy day, at one with the elements. ‘It was depressing rather than difficult,’ said Pate. ‘Non-stop rain makes it miserable and dangerous rather than the horrible experience it is in freezing temperatures.’

      Road captain Knees prides himself on not being affected by the weather, but he was pleased about the last-minute route change. ‘I have to say they made a good call in re-routing so that we finished up the climb. I was wearing my rain jacket but didn’t need gloves until the last climb when I was taking it easy, my job done. I worked hard that day and took up a lot of the running at the front with Xabi. The breakaway was a long way ahead, and not many other teams were riding full gas. At times it felt like we were the only team pulling.’

      The final climb to Jafferau was where everything shook down. A seven-man breakaway had a ten-minute lead at one point, before the peloton, led by Astana and Team Sky, started reeling them in. With 5km to go, Sergio Henao attacked but was thwarted. Freezing fog descended and the Italians Mauro Santambrogio and Nibali traded attacks, with the former outsmarting the race leader to take stage glories. Urán, riding without gloves, came in fifth, 30 seconds down, and remained in third place overall.

      In Maglia Rosa: Triumph and Tragedy at the Giro d’ltalia, cycling historian Herbie Sykes concludes: ‘You never know where [the Giro] will take you but you can be assured that the journey will be eventful and magical and exasperating and surprising and human.’ For Team Sky collectively, it had so far been a predominantly eventful and exasperating passage. With Urán, buoyant after a first Grand Tour stage win and treasuring his particular affinity for the Italian mountains and people, it could turn into something magical, surprising and human. With great courage, the Colombian left his home country as a teenager to make his living as a professional rider in Italy. The experience left him with a deep love for the country and the cultural significance of the Giro. ‘I love everything about the Giro. It feels so emotional to be involved in it,’ he said. ‘The climbs are special. The race is special. The fans are special. The Dolomites are beautiful and the style of climbing suits me.’

      Urán came to Europe in 2006 when he was 19 to ride for a small Italian outfit, Team Tenax. ‘I turned professional here, training in the mountains in the north and living in a small apartment I rented in the house of a family in Brescia,’ he continued. ‘We had a close rapport. They treated me like their adopted son. When I had a bad accident at the Deutschland Tour – I smashed into a wall and fractured my collarbone, elbows, right arm and wrist – the family came and stayed with me in hospital, bathing me, feeding me, nursing me back to health. I live in Pamplona [in Spain] now, but I maintain close ties with Italy. I come and stay with my family and friends, and my fan club is based there.’

      To take on the leadership role at the Giro was not something to be taken lightly, Urán said, especially at a number one outfit like Team Sky. ‘It’s never great to see your leader go and receive the baton of responsibility after someone else’s bad luck. You have to respond to the extra burden. Some guys can take it. Some guys can’t. To be a leader, you can never have a bad day. You have to be ultra-consistent. That’s a huge pressure in a sport where your body is pushed to the limit. You can go from 40 degrees on the coast to –10 degrees up in the mountains. It’s crazy. Waking up on those first few days as leader, I felt calm and relaxed. I knew I had prepared extremely well, trained well. I had come into the race with good form and I was confident I could race as hard as I could.

      ‘But I suffered at Sestrieres. It rained and rained. There was non-stop water for five hours and the stage was very difficult. I felt tired. My legs were heavy, but I had a responsibility not to stop pedalling. The cold and bad weather has become another “rival” to defeat in this year’s Giro!’

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