Ganna and his wheel-sucking brother-in-law reached an appropriate compromise after Giro d’Italia final stage

Filippo Ganna looked set to turn the final stage of the Giro d’Italia on its head on Sunday, but two hangers on and the Unibet Rose Rockets sprint train ensured the Netcompany INEOS rider was eventually caught. A notable detail: one of the two riders glued to his wheel in the breakaway was none other than his brother-in-law Matteo Sobrero, riding for Lidl-Trek.

The winner is always right, and in this case that was Sobrero, since his leader Jonathan Milan won the stage in Rome. But it must have been at least a little awkward for him to sit in the wheel of his hard-riding brother-in-law from kilometre 18 to 3. Sobrero is in a relationship with Ganna’s sister.

Ganna, who once again showed how hard he can ride on the flat, could laugh about it. “Matteo was of course happy with the outcome, but also a bit disappointed with the way he had to do it. He did the best possible thing for Lidl-Trek and Jonathan, and it was a situation that was not very comfortable for him.”

The two spoke after the finish. “And in the end we reached a good compromise: a good bottle of wine,” said Ganna, who finished the Giro d’Italia with a time trial victory and plenty of strong work for Thymen Arensman.

In Rome, he could not add the cherry on top. “It was a nice attempt, and I also wanted to do that in Rome, but it is never easy. We can try again in the Tour de France,” the Italian concluded.