Rinat in the Giro: Back in a ski lift above 2000m still gives him nightmares | gyro

Gloves and a warm hat. Renaat Schotte knows what extra he has to get out of his bag when Gran Sasso is on the list for the Giro.

In 2018, the Tour of Italy also reached Gran Sasso. Rinat remembers well the mountaintop cold in the Apennines. Also yesterday, the temperature was on top about the freezing point.

No wonder, then, that Remco Evenepoel wanted to board his privately chartered helicopter as soon as possible after arrival.

But Rinat mentions another side of Gran Sasso: a ski lift that still occasionally appears in his nightmares. Most journalists are not allowed to drive to the top of the mountain, but are required to take a trip to the top with a ski lift.

Not only does this cause a loss of time – the lift only runs every half hour and the Italian driver is insensitive to the calls of cycling journalists who don’t want to miss a race photo – but it really becomes a torture device for the press when coming under.

In the face of deadlines, the long line of fans waiting after the ride is the equivalent of a starving rider. You can miss it as a toothache.

In 2018, Renaat Schotte saw people roll across the ice as they battled to get off in time. With about 1,000 fans at the summit this year, Rinat feared similar scenes. Watch in the video how his journey to Gran Sasso ended.