The minds and thoughts of enthusiasts and professionals are still focused on the Sestriere stage. In particular, the images of the climb of Colle delle Finestre recur, which basically decided the 108th edition of the Tour of ItalyYates's attack, when the summit and the finish line in Sestriere were still far away, upset the plans. Behind Del Toro and Carapaz played on the strength of nervesThe result is that both missed the opportunity to win the Giro.
To understand what happened in the last week of the Corsa Rosa we went to Mikkel HonoréThe Dane from EF Education-EasyPost tells us about the thoughts inside the American team, which for a few days gave the impression that it could win the Giro with their captain Richard Carapaz.
First climbs and first truths
The Giro continued on a tense note until the end of the second week. After the second rest day, the group faced the first real uphill finish: San Valentino. A climb that opened Some doubts on the holding of the pink jersey. Del Toro He maintained his lead but his leadership did not appear as solid as before.
«After the rest day – Honoré tells us as he heads home – Carapaz did well to capitalize on what was the first uphill finish. He put all his opponents to the limit, also thanks to his work made by Ineos in the previous kilometersThat day, we returned to the bus more than half as late as the pink jersey. Perhaps we missed the stage that could have given the final blow to the classification."
What do you mean?
Another uphill finish would have been useful. Overall, the Giro hasn't seen many such finishes; I've counted three: that of Tagliacozzo, San Valentino and champolucBut there was no more difficult climb like the one on San Valentino, in the finale.
Do you think it would have been helpful?
To make a difference against a squadron like the UAE I would say yes. We tried to use a different tactic on Colle delle Finestre by taking it head on and making the race explode. We also attacked in the Mortirolo stage, with Steinhauser in the breakaway as support. Carapaz got on him, but then behind was the UAE with three more men Del ToroWe had noticed, during the climb of the Mortirolo, that the pink jersey wasn't exactly brilliant.
Looking back, is there anything you would change?
Tactically, we were perfect. Given the type of team we had and the way we played, we gave it our all. I don't think there were any mistakes, and that's what makes me happiest.
In the end the difference was made by the Colle delle Finestre and the tactics of the UAE...
The smartest one won, the one who made the right attack at the right time. It's a shame for us, but I think the one who lost the most is the UAEThey were in the pink jersey and saw the Giro fade away. Magari Del Toro it was at the limit on the Hill of Windows, but I don't think so given the sprint he did in Sestriere.
What were the feelings in the team?
We were convinced, I was the first, that we had the strongest rider. We knew it from day one. I was also aware of the strength of Del Toro, when people asked me to name the favorites, I replied not to underestimate the young Mexican.
How worried were you about Yates?
If a rider takes third place in the Giro d'Italia, it means he's strong. But the way we raced and given the state of Carapaz, we only looked at first placeThe idea was to try to win, between second and third place it made little difference.
Is this why Carapaz did not follow Yates' attack on the Colle delle Finestre?
He tried to close, in fact he and Del Toro they came within seconds of Yates, but at the most beautiful moment the rider of the UAE He didn't give a change to try to mend the situation. However, every time Carapaz tried to attack he was always followed by Del Toro.
What were the feelings in the team after Sestriere?
There was a strange feeling. We believed in the pink jersey and we had a dream and we knew we had the right cards to make it happenIt was our chance. We don't know when another one will come along that's as concrete as this to win the Giro, I think the same goes for Del ToroIn the end we ran as we had said. Indeed, se Del Toro had he closed on Yates, I would have been angrier. It would have been a sign that he was racing for second place. We risked everything to win and that was the right thing to do..
