Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) took a memorable victory yesterday, crossing the finish line alone on the Col du Galibier, as snow fell on the Giro d’Italia. 55 kilometres into the stage, he had joined a small group of riders who broke away from the peloton. Then, just before the Col du Télégraphe, 21km from the finish line, he went clear on his own.

Carlos Betancur (AG2R La Mondiale) finished second, 42 seconds after Visconti, with Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) third in the same time.

Following his spectacular stage win, Visconti spoke about his emotions during the stage and said he hoped his victory will mark a new beginning in his career.

“With the years I’ve come to realize that I don’t ride well in the cold. I get most of my results in May and June, in the heat,” Visconti said after the stage. “But you don’t notice the cold and the rain when you’re leading the race. It’s worse when you’re in the peloton. Today, the sun was shining, it was a mythical stage, and I’m happy I made it all the way today.”

“To a degree, I planned today’s move. Throughout the Giro I had been hoping to get into the breakaway on one of the really mythical stages. I told my father and friends that I hoped to get into a fugaccia [a special break] in a tappaccia [a special stage]. I’ve never before felt what Vincenzo [Nibali] feels, riding these stages at the front. Today I felt it.”

“In the final kms, you saw me crying, but for the last 3 kms I was crying inside. I knew I could win the stage. I thought of the coincidence of finishing near Marco’s memorial. We share the same birthday. I thought of him and asked him for the strength to finish. Someone said to me today, a circle is closed. A year ago I quit the race on Stage 15, today I won Stage 15. I hope that from now a new career starts for me.”