Rather than for Ivan Quaranta‘s masterful sprint, out-sprinting Jan Svorada and Mario Cipollini, Stage 10 of the 2000 Giro d’Italia, the one that led the peloton from San Marcello Pistoiese to Padua for a total of 253 km, is remembered for an impromptu protest organised by some teams, mostly Italian, for the proceeds of the television rights.
Urged on by their own management and the riders’ union, rather than out of any real conviction of their own, the athletes deserted the post-stage prize-giving ceremony and found refuge in a press silence that lasted the entire afternoon. Basically, Quaranta did not turn up to celebrate the stage victory and Francesco Casagrande did not wear the Maglia Rosa, something that had only happened in 1985, in that case involving Francesco Moser and Urs Freuler due to a sponsor-related protest. On that day, only Fabrizio Guidi stepped on the podium, wearing the Maglia Azzurra of the Intergiro, as his team, the FDJ, was not linked to the riders’ union.
Quaranta, who some TV stations managed to exchange a few words with, stated rather clearly: “not celebrating was like taking a shovel to the face”, which well explained the mood of the riders after that imposed strike. The sprinter from Crema – currently a technical collaborator for the national track speed team – won six stages at the Giro d’Italia and, after that surreal day in Padua, he found another way to celebrate at the Corsa Rosa, winning two stages in the 2001 edition.
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