Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) dancing on the pedals(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alexandre Geniez (FDJ.fr)(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Alexandre Geniez (FDJ.fr)(Image credit: Sirotti)
French rider Alexandre Geniez became one of the heroes of stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia as he managed to avoid crashing four times in 500 metres on a ran-soaked descent before Vicenza.
The FDJ rider hopes to finish in the top 10 overall at the Giro d'Italia and dived down the descent of the Corsara climb, with 19km to go, convinced his mountain bike skills would help him gain time. He managed to open a gap on the peloton but then went close to crashing on four separate occasions.
The first time he pulled his left foot out of the pedals and just managed to avoid hitting the roadside barriers on the right of the road. Seemingly unperturbed, seconds later he went wide on a curve, pulled out his right foot and rode on the grass, again avoiding to crash. He then pulled out his left foot for a third time on another corner before a fourth moment of fear finally convinced him to put his safety first.
His rear brake seemed to block up on a gentle curve and he took his left foot out of the pedal yet again to counter balance his position but drifted off the road onto the grass. He managed to avoid some spectators and corrected his trajectory just in time to avoid crashing, with another spectator desperately dragging his dog out of the way.
Geniez wisely decided to ease up at that point. He finished the stage 19 seconds behind winner Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and is 18th overall, 5:03 behind race leader Alberto Contador. Importantly, he avoided crashing.
He did not comment on his hair-rising descent after the finish but posted on Twitter a link to the video of his slipping and sliding on the Corsara descent.
"Petite video de la descente du jour...Conclusion : les routes italiennes glissent!" – "A little video of today's descent… Conclusion: the Italian roads are slippy!"
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
