<\/a><\/p>\nA race of opportunity and adaptability<\/h2>\n In some ways, the Giro is going into the final week as we might have expected, with Jonas Vingegaard in pink, but actually, there have been loads of unexpected winners and stories and things have changed a lot since Bulgaria.<\/p>\n
In many ways, week two was the week of the breakaway, and that wasn’t by accident. When Fredrik Dversnes took that win in Milan, I spoke to the Uno-X director Michael Blaudzun and he told me that they’d been planning and hoping to try and outsmart the sprinters and win from that break, and that’s what they did. The whole breakaway rode it really smart, and in the end I wanted all of them to get the stage win. It was really a day that they all worked for and deserved, not just a fluke or a mess up from the peloton. Everyone loves to back the breakaway and they’ve really delivered in this Giro.<\/p>\n\n\n
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(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe other really big thing for me has been how teams whose Giro maybe hasn’t gone to plan have managed to turn it around and still find success. UAE Team Emirates-XRG are obviously the main one, losing Marc Soler, Adam Yates and Jay Vine on day two, ending up without a GC rider, but they’ve turned it around and already won four stages. It’s a really good display of how you can make a new plan and still fight for something, and the importance of determination and not giving up even when things go wrong. I think it\u2019s a good lesson and mentality to have in life too.<\/p>\n
Similarly has been Movistar, who came in with overall hopes for Enric Mas, which hasn’t really worked out for him, but they’ve been amazing, fighting for so many stage wins and Mas taking second on that day behind Narv\u00e1ez. So many people I’ve spoken to \u2013 and me included \u2013 really want to see Movistar win a stage, because they’ve been racing so boldly and have so many strong riders, not just Mas but also Einer Rubio, Lorenzo Milesi and Orluis Aular.<\/p>\n
The final standout team has definitely been Bahrain Victorious and the way they defended pink. I wrote in my column last week that I thought Afonso Eul\u00e1lio could hold pink until the end of the second week, and he did, which was amazing to see \u2013 not just for him but for the whole team too, with Segaert winning, and Giro veteran Damiano Caruso getting to make his mark on the race again. A big hats off to them \u2013 and I’m not just saying that because Afonso very kindly gifted me his special pink glasses!<\/p>\n
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Obviously the riders being strong and motivated is probably the biggest part of winning, but I think another important thing on the mental side is the role of the sports directors. Teams having fresh ideas in the car, like Movistar with Matt White, is really important, but it’s also about having DSs who can guide riders and give them the space to believe that they can do it. Maxime Bouet at Lotto Intermarch\u00e9 has been a good example of that, because their team has had a really disastrous Giro with illness so they’re down to only four riders, but he’s been keeping the morale high and keeping everyone in good spirits. And the result was that even without their leaders, Toon Aerts sprinted to second on that stage to Novi Ligure, because Bouet had told him even before the Giro that that could be a stage for him.<\/p>\n
Another one that will be interesting to see this week is Unibet Rose Rockets with Wout Poels, who is the oldest rider in the race and could not only win the Rockets’ first ever Grand Tour win, but also complete his set of GT stage wins. I know he works really closely with Jon Mould and they both have a lot of belief and faith in each other, and that is a big part of the reason why he’s able to be up there fighting for wins.<\/p>\n
The way I see it and from talking to the teams every day, the important thing is having everyone on board with the plan, and everyone buying into it and trusting each other. The whole team have to believe that it can work, and that’s how you get your riders to give their full efforts and commitment.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThings are about to hot up<\/h2>\n It’s been a fantastic race so far, but the best part is, we still have a really exciting third week ahead of us, and I think things are going to keep hotting up. We still have a really hard week of racing, with no easy days, and the gaps really aren’t big \u2013 especially when you consider that Vingegaard’s biggest GC rival, Felix Gall, is a rider who is always good in the third week of a Grand Tour.<\/p>\n
So I think we still have a big fight for the maglia rosa on our hands, with stage 20 and its two ascents of Piancavallo a day that could still shake everything up. I mean, Visma-Lease a Bike know more than anyone how things can change on the penultimate day, given they took the pink jersey on stage 20 in both 2023 and 2025, so it will be interesting how they approach this week. They’re well aware that things can change dramatically, and it will also be a very different final week for them, coming in to defend the jersey rather than chase it. I think so far they’ve raced a really smart, calm and conservative Giro, but they’re in pink now and all eyes will be on them.<\/p>\n\n\n
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(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWe’ve already had loads of different and exciting winners in this Giro, but if there’s one thing I’d like to see in this final week, it would definitely be a stage win for Movistar. They’ve tried so many times, and riders like Milesi and Rubio have been so strong. We’re used to seeing dominant riders and teams win, and obviously they work hard and deserve that, but it’s always so special to see the teams and riders who are also out there grinding every day finally get rewarded with a win, so I’m hoping for that for Movistar this week.<\/p>\n
Jonas Vingegaard is obviously starting this week in the driver’s seat, but if this Giro has taught us anything so far, it’s that there are opportunities there for the taking, and this final week has plenty of chances to throw some real excitement into the mix. I can’t wait to see what happens!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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