ON THE ZONCOLAN, HE HAS ALREADY WON

(Zaral Virgolin in the Mediolanum picture).

There is someone who has already won on the Zoncolan, he climbed it after returning to life. His name is Zaral, from Friuli, a borderland that knows so much about history. Not an ordinary person, but a “survivor”, one who has beaten a cancer, but he did not remain unscathed from the wounds. Without a leg, however, it is possible to live and to face unimaginable challenges for many people, and perhaps, once a time for him. Its power is not its physical strength, but its inner strength. A disarming smile and a great desire to live, he knows that time is precious and should not be wasted.

He has already climbed the Zoncolan, and he will climb it again today, waiting to know if the winner of the stage of the Giro will be Yates
or another climber.

He explains the essence of cycling and climbing the mountains so much that it has just ended up in a book published by Banca Mediolanum.

“For me, cycling is a prayer. The bike made me return to being a normal child, when I lost my leg due to cancer. Cycling was the first sport I faced, with a pedal arranged to allow me to ride with the prosthesis. At the beginning, I thought that I would not be able and then I did not get off. Every day of the year I ride, it’s not just a sport, but it’s going back to being a normal guy. At first, I wore long pants because I was ashamed to show myself. Then, with the summer heat, I was forced to wear shorts and I saw how they were surprised. So, I understood that I should not be ashamed of my story, but be proud of it. The beauty is that in the world we are so many and so different each other, everyone with its own story, and this variety is a treasure”

 

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Arrival: — 1. Elia VIVIANi (Quick-Step Floors) 180 km in 3.56’25’’, average 45,68 km/h; 2. Bennett (Irl); 3. Van Poppel (NL); 4. Modolo; 5. Gibbons (S.Af); 6. Drucker (Lus); 7. Belletti; 8. Venturini (Fra); 9. Planckaert (Bel); 10. Debusschere (Bel); 31. Pozzovivo; 34. S. Yates (Gb); 35. G. Bennett (N.Zel); 39. Dumoulin (NL); 42. Pinot (Fra); 52. Aru; 59. Lopez (Col); 65. Froome (Gb); 69. Carapaz (Ecu).

Rankings: — 1. Simon YATES (Gb – Mitchelton-Scott); 2. Dumoulin (NL) at 47’’; 3. Pinot (Fra) at 1’04’’; 4. Pozzovivo at 1’18’’; 5. Carapaz (Ecu) at 1’56’’; 6. G. Bennett (N. Zel) at 2’09’’; 7. Dennis (Aus) at 2’36’’; 8. Bilbao (Spa) at 2’54’’; 9. Konrad (Aut) at 2’55’’; 10. Aru at 3’10’’; 11. Lopez (Col) at 3’17’’; 12. Froome (Gb) at 3’20’’.