"We should just ask him if he’s happy with it": Giulio Ciccone confused by Einer Rubio's actions

Despite having dropped out of the general classification at this year's Giro d'Italia (on purpose), Giulio Ciccone continues to be in the center of attention. On stage 19, Ciccone joined his already fifth breakaway of this Giro. His goal was clear; to move into the Maglia Azzurra, ideally with enough of a lead over GC leader Jonas Vingegaard that he cannot be passed on the race's final mountain stage with double ascent of Piancavallo.

"I am happy with this stage," the Lidl-Trek rider told Cycling Pro Net at the finish line. "It really hurt a lot; it was full throttle from start to finish. I think we had a plan as a team and we rode a great stage. Yes, we finished second and third. Maybe we can be a little bit disappointed that we missed out on the win, but as a team we can be super proud, because we did a fantastic job."

Ciccone did a lot of work at the front of the group in assistance of the team's GC leader Gee-West, eyeing a move up the general classification today, but it feels as though more was possible with such a strong duo in today's breakaway.

"Well, I attacked on the descent and then there was a strong headwind in the valley. I thought that was a good move for Derek too, because that way he could stay on the wheels," Ciccone analyzed his attack over the top of Passo Falzarego.

Ciccone's risk in descent allowed him to gain up to a minute of advantage on the foot of final ascent, but that lead quickly diminished under the pace of Sepp Kuss. The American climber managed to get rid of Giulio Pellizzari and even Ciccone's teammate Derek Gee-West and moments later passed the empty Ciccone who eventually rolled across the finish line in third place.

"I don’t know exactly what happened behind me, because I was riding at the front and I haven’t watched the stage back myself yet. But yeah, I saw Kuss pass me at double speed, there was just nothing I could do," Ciccone smiled. "At the same time, I saw that Derek was maintaining a high pace, but I was going completely flat out myself. So he rode straight through and finished second."

At the top of the penultimate climb, Ciccone had a brief spat with Einer Rubio. The Colombian snatched the mountain points right from under the Italian's nose, who had hoped the points would be awarded to him as the virtual leader. What exactly happened there?

"You should ask him what happened, because I had nothing against him. Apparently, he had a problem with me after that Red Bull kilometer."

"But I couldn’t do anything about that Red Bull kilometer. Today it was all about the GC contenders who were sitting there, with Gee, Storer, and all those guys. I don’t know what his problem with me was, but apparently he really wanted to win that Red Bull kilometer. After that, he sprinted to the mountain points right in front of my nose."

Normally, Ciccone would've likely still won the sprint, but Rubio's acceleration caught him by a surprise:

"I wasn’t ready for it, I hadn’t expected him to just sprint without a clear reason, because there really was no reason for it. Those points were actually worth their weight in gold only to me, because I am the only one really fighting for that jersey."

"I don’t think the number three in that classification can still win. So he did that sprint… and now I think we should just ask him if he’s happy with it."

The situation in the Maglia Azzurra is currently as follows: Ciccone leads with 273 points, Jonas Vingegaard moves down to second with 216 points, and Rubio is third on 164 points. Tomorrow, there's only 98 points on offer. Therefore, Ciccone only needs to complete the race to win the KoM classification.