A breakdown of Giacomo Nizzolo’s remarkable Giro d’Italia record
It's going to mean the world when Nizzolo finally gets his stage win ...
It's going to mean the world when Nizzolo finally gets his stage win ...
As the peloton thundered into Cattolica on Wednesday to decide stage 5 of the 2021 Giro d’Italia, Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos) was right where he needed to be. The Italian and European champion was a few wheels from the front when the sprint began, then swept into the lead with just 150 metres to go. It looked like Nizzolo was on his way to a long-awaited Giro d’Italia stage win.
But Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) had other ideas. The Australian edged ahead of Nizzolo mere metres from the finish to take his fourth Giro stage win (see video below).
No bike racer ever wants to come second, in any race, but for Nizzolo, finishing second on Wednesday would have been particularly painful. In five stages of this year’s Giro, Nizzolo’s already finished second on two occasions. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In many ways, Nizzolo’s career has been defined by a tumultuous relationship with his home Grand Tour; a race where he’s managed a multitude of top finishes, but never taken a stage win.
With that in mind, let’s take a look back at Nizzolo’s remarkable record at the Giro d’Italia, year by year. If you’re a fan of the 32-year-old sprinter, the following might make for pretty tough reading.
Nizzolo didn’t race the Giro d’Italia in 2010, but he did race the ‘Baby Giro’, the U23 version of the Italian Grand Tour. In a sign of things to come, Nizzolo’s best result was a second place on stage 3, finishing behind Andrea Guardini in a reduced bunch sprint.
After joining the WorldTour ranks in 2011, Nizzolo made his first Giro d’Italia appearance in 2012. His notable results at that race:
In his second Giro, Nizzolo got his first runner-up finish. His top results:
This was the year Nizzolo’s curse really began. Notable results include:
His struggle continued at the 2015 Giro, but with a consolation prize at the end. His race included:
Perhaps the most frustrating of Nizzolo’s Giri. On stage 17 he won the bunch sprint … just behind Roger Kluge who escaped late (see video below). On stage 21 he won the bunch sprint again, and was first across the line that time … but was later relegated for closing the door on Sacha Modolo. His race in summary:
Not Nizzolo’s best Giro. He abandoned after stage 10 due to pollen allergies and a lack of form, courtesy of an earlier knee injury. Still, he managed:
After missing the Giro in 2018 Nizzolo returned in 2019 with another rather lacklustre performance. Still, he netted:
After missing the 2020 edition, Nizzolo got right back into his work at the 2021 edition. At the time of writing he’s managed:
So, to summarise, here’s Nizzolo’s incredible record in stage finishes at the Giro d’Italia:
That’s a total of 16 podium finishes and 35 top-10 finishes on Giro d’Italia road stages, without taking a victory. Remarkable.
To Nizzolo’s credit, he seems pretty philosophical about the whole thing, at least publicly. “Merlier did a great sprint so I think today the strongest won,” he said after finishing second on stage 2 of this year’s race. “Overall I’m happy and I think that we’ve started this Giro well. Hopefully we can get a better result in the coming days.”
He was similarly optimistic after finishing second on stage 5. “I think I did a good sprint but yet again came up against somebody just stronger than me on the day,” he said. “Hopefully the victory will come the next time.”
The next time will likely be on stage 7, which should end in another bunch sprint. Could it be there, in Termoli, that Nizzolo finally breaks his drought? After reaching the Giro podium 16 times – and after winning the points classification twice – could Nizzolo finally make it to the top step as a Giro d’Italia stage winner? Few would begrudge him an almighty celebration if he does.