Giro d’Italia 2018 Stage 6: Aww…look mate!

Lou Reed, as we know, was a man who knew a perfect day when he saw one. But, my cultural sources confirm, the day he had in mind in the famous song was less to do with pro cycling and more to do with Class A drugs.

Who knew?

I’ve been listening to that song all wrong.

Esteban Chaves, as far as I know, doesn’t share Mr Reed’s enthusiasm for illegal highs, but on Stage 6 and the summit finish of Mount Etna his day could not have gone more perfectly.

Away in the breakaway all day, when he made his final attack on the climb he looked uncatchable – until teammate (and the form man in the race so far) Simon Yates rolled up alongside and shepherded his pal home for the win.

And we all know how much importance Aussies place on, as they call it, “mateship.”

So for the pair of them to take a one-two on the stage (Chaves as the winner), and fill two of the top three places in the General Classification (Yates, after a brave fight from Rohan Dennis, now in pink), it’s no wonder they were both smiling.

First reports of Chaves win filtered through, as it happens, via the International Space Station, from a pair of Cosmonauts who happened to be peering out of their porthole window at the time.

Embed from Getty Images

Along with the Great Wall of China and Mario Cipollini’s ego, the vast smile of Esteban Chaves is one of those man-made structures clearly visible from space.

But wait, I know what you’re saying: “Flippin’ ‘eck ragtime, this is lax even by your standards…neither of them are Aussies!”

Have you heard Chaves speak?

I think he’s officially Australumbian.

And Yates has taken over from Nico Roche in having the least geographically identifiable accent in the pro peloton, so mixed and mangled is it by years of team buses and hotel rooms.

And the team, and the attitude, is Aussie to the core. It couldn’t be more Aussie. Today was an Aussie one-two, it just happened to be clinched by a Brit and a Columbian.

You want to know how impressed I am by today’s team performance?

I resolve, from this point on, to stop calling them “Orica” and start referring to them, correctly, as “Mitchelton Scott.”

I know…BIG news eh?

But they are THAT good!

For a superb description of a perfect day, check out this excellent piece by Caley Fretz on Cycling Tips.

---

(Flag Image: public domain via PxHere.com)