Usually in cycling, rest days are well deserved. After today’s ninth stage of the Giro, ‘well-deserved’ is a massive understatement.

It was a 205-kilometer-long journey of suffering for the whole peloton. It took around seventy kilometers for a breakaway to go, resulting in an incredible fast start. The mountainous terrain that followed did not make life easier. Especially not for Guy Sagiv (still covered in bandages) and Alex Cataford (who crashed badly yesterday).

No, with the cold, rainy, autumn weather here in Italy, it was not a day to be jealous of professional cyclists. “I can’t feel my hands anymore,” said a cold Guy Sagiv when he tried to put a jacket on.

Everyone from ISN survived this not-so-fun day in the saddle – some in groups more up-front and some further to the back. Cataford (he went for medical checks before the start) showed serious perseverance after losing a lot of skin yesterday.

Directeur Sportif Claudio Cozzi: “This was a day in survival mode.”

Like we said, it’s a well-deserved rest day tomorrow, and most of our riders will just take it easy.