Nothing to be done Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) did all he could on stage 7 of the Giro d'Italia, attacking repeatedly from the breakaway on the rugged course through the Basilicata province, but by the time they reached the last hole heading to Potenza, the last four They were almost all punched out.

In the end, two factors favored stage winner Kane Bouwman. His fast finishing speed gave him an advantage when it came to sprinting, and Jumbo Visma's teammate, Tom Dumoulin, contributed to his victory. Formolo had to settle for third place behind Bouwman and Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).

"I wanted to get into the breakaway today no matter what. Once I got in there, I tried on the climbs and I tried on the descents," said Formolo. He briefly pulled away from his companions on the climb of La Serrata with 26km to go, but was pulled back by Dumoulin and Morema. [I could see the two jumbo riders waiting for each other and obviously they were very strong.

Dumoulin stopped the pace well short of the summit of La Serrata, allowing Bouman to catch up again. Formolo tried again there and Dumoulin briefly fell off, but the 2017 Giro winner returned to the front after the road flattened out and led the sprint to Bouman.

"Toward the end of the race, the riders at the front had almost equal power and found it impossible to make a gap. Bouman was the fastest and with Dumoulin supporting him, there was no way he could get away."

Along with Giacomo Nizzolo, who finished third in a group sprint in Messina, Formolo was the only Italian rider to come close to a stage victory in the opening week of the Giro.

Nibali has already dropped out of overall contention in this Giro after giving up a place on the summit of Etna, and it remains to be seen if Giulio Ciccone (20th in 2 hours 32 minutes) can begin to realize his potential in concrete terms over the next three weeks. The struggles in the Giro follow a slow start to the Classics for Italian riders. At least for now, Italy lacks riders who can challenge for honors in the big races.

"There used to be 20 Italians who could win at the Monument. In my own small way, I have come close to winning the Monument once or twice."

Formolo has had overall class ambitions in the Giro over the past few years, finishing 10th overall in the 2017 and 2018 Giro, but since joining UAE Team Emirates in 2020, he has been used more often as a deluxe domestique. The Verona native has helped Tadei Pogachar win the last two Tour de France and served Joan Almeida in the Giro.

"From 2017 to 2019, I wanted to be in the top five in GC and I wasn't wrong to go for it," Formolo said.

"But now I'm on a team with a lot of strong captains like Almeida, who can get on the podium here, and Taddei, who can win any race.

Despite being Almeida's deputy in this Giro, Formolo hopes to seize more opportunities between here and Verona. He joked, "I need a day in the group to recover after this." 'Obviously it would have been better to win today, but I'll try again'

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