The team took a leap of faith today. They have put in everything they got. Zakur worked out a plan. He described it as a master plan. “It has worked before. It will work today too!� It didn’t work out. Everything ended in a bunch sprint up to Val Martello. Along the way, Euskaltel – Euskadi riders were the losers of the day. Whatever they tried to today, it wasn’t enough. They weren’t up for it. And Zakur exactly knows whom to blame for it. The doors are closed for me but after the 9 poor souls leave one after another the room, I might just feel a sign of a little uproar amidst them. They are pissed and their dismay and anger are obvious, as they head out into the night and talk about a possible way out of this. It’s not about the Giro. It’s about the team.

welker3257 wrote:
I'm confuzzeled as to how 45 riders finished on the same time at a grand tour

Dogs of San Sebastian, Part 5

I was not allowed into the team car at Stage 20. No one is who isn’t vital to the team’s operation. That means only mechanics and Zakur and the other guy in the two team cars. I am not the only who is dispensable it seems. “We are taking off the focus of the race�, he tells us and shifts the blame to anyone but himself. I have to watch race in some bar in Tre Cime. The place is crowded, and most of the Italians are cheering for their hero, Vincenzo Nibali. Besides the obvious headlines, a little scandal is coming to light on its own. Tensions have grown over the last weeks, and at first I don’t see what is in motion. The Italian commentators are focusing on the strength of Nibali and only when Samuel Sánchez tries his first move with Gorka Verdugo, I see that their ear pieces are hanging down their jerseys. They are not in contact with Zakur. They are ignoring him, riding all on their own.

I can just about imagine how furious Zakur is. How much he is shouting at Samu and Gorka. At anyone that is around him. In the team car. Spectators. Race officials. The poor guy who getting bottles. When Samu has some lead the car is allowed forward and Zakur drives in anger up to Samu. He would have nearly crashed into Samu, he riding like insane. And then, he opened the window and everybody in the bar was quiet as Zakur’s temper swung over and he punched on the door and told Samu, to get off his bike. Now. Now. His punching harder and he’s getting crazy. Samu has nearly nothing left in his bottle. But instead of asking Zakur, he just waits and asks later the guy on the motorbike to fetch him some bottles. Zakur is utterly mad and stops his car then. I don’t see him for the rest of the race, while Samu fights his way up to the second last climb. The crowd is confused, the commentators are. I know what’s going on. It’s a mutiny.

That night, we didn’t gain anything. We didn’t have a shot at a stage victory. We were not interested in that. It was about team spirit. The second team manager called the guys in San Sebastian, and told them it couldn’t go on like that. They understood. They were satisfied with the results of the team though. So they just pulled Zakur out of the race. It was only one stage left. Not much would happen. But the spirits of the team were instantly lifted when Zakur departed that night in utter disbelief. He had no energy left after all this screaming, all this rage. He couldn’t accept it but he left. The team was relieved, and I havn’t seen them in such a balance and calmness in the last 3 weeks.