DISCUSSION Giro d'Italia Stage 7 | Primoz Roglic has no answers as Juan Ayuso comes of age

Stage 7 of the Giro d’Italia delivered the first mountain test, with Juan Ayuso emerging victorious in a tense summit finish. Despite small time gaps, Ayuso drew first blood and beat Primoz Roglic, eliminating their time deficit and claiming the stage win.

Could this be a changing of the guard moment? Has Juan Ayuso come of age in Italy?

UAE Team Emirates – XRG controlled the steep final climb perfectly, with Ayuso accelerating in the final 800 metres to drop his rivals. His teammate Isaac del Toro finished second, securing a 1-2 for the team, while Egan Bernal took third, showing that he is returning to strong form.

Roglic finished just behind and now leads the general classification by four seconds over Ayuso, but we cannot understate the magnitude of what we saw today. Earlier in the day, a breakaway formed but was reeled in before the final ascent, and before that a crash involving Romain Bardet and David Gaudu briefly disrupted the race, but both riders rejoined the peloton.

In the aftermath of what was a superb day of racing at the Giro d’Italia, we caught up with some of our writers to find out what they thought about the action. Find out more about what they had to say!

My main question really is why did BORA race like this? They had said quite clearly they did not want the race lead too early in the race, yet they worked fully for that.

The day after they have lost Jai Hindley, the main domestique for Roglic in the mountains, they commited to a full day of working for the sole chance of winning a stage.

In the end it fired back completely, with Roglic not taking the stage win, losing time to Ayuso in a climb that suited him better, and with no reason for as to why the German team worked so much. In the end of the day, Roglic still emerges with the pink jersey, meaning BORA will actually have responsibility to work more throughout the next few days.

So I count three small negative points, which may not decide the race but have given UAE a very big psychological victory. They have stayed in the wheel all day long, kept all 4 GC riders in front, and have taken a necessary win for Ayuso. All-in-all that's the main takeway from the day, a clear defeat for BORA the day after a small disaster.

I'm quite pleased with Egan Bernal's attack and form towards the end, I don't think even with his very best level he is capable of winning this Giro but this gives good expectations of what may follow. The same can be said of Richard Carapaz, who looked strong and proved that he's recovered from yesterday's fall. He is one of the few who is an absolute wildcard and can explode the race at any moment.

If you had asked me before the stage, I would have told you that this stage had Primoz Roglic's name written all over it. But this is so often the case with Roglic in grand tours, things go wrong when they have no reason to.

By no means is this a disaster, especially time wise, and he is of course now in the pink jersey. But he, and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, will end the day with a sour taste in their mouths, after some questionable tactics throughout. They took on a huge amount of the work throughout the stage, and it is their main rival for the GC who has picked up the win. Disaster!

Mads Pedersen’s time in pink may have come to an end, but what a first week he has had at the Giro. Two things come to mind: firstly, this Giro was billed as Pedersen vs Van Aert. Pedersen silenced that argument in no time.

Secondly, how is Pedersen not going to the Tour!? Yes, Lidl-Trek are prioritising Milan this year, but could they not have brought Pedersen too, especially considering his form and the profile of the first half of the race. Remember, Van der Poel and Philipsen collaborate perfectly as a sprinter and an all rounder…

Apologies for getting side tracked there, back to the Giro now. On that note, I think it is time I hold my hands up and admit that I was wrong. Earlier this week, I wrote an opinion piece arguing that UAE and some fans were underestimating Adam Yates, and he could still prove to be the team leader. After today's stage, I'm going to have to rethink some of my opinions! Juan Ayuso is the man of the moment.

I am really happy to see Egan Bernal in shape again. He was always well positioned during the last climb and put his team to work with the clear goal of fighting for the win. He was actually the one trying to close the gap with Ayuso and almost managed to do so, although the Spaniard was too much for him. A very impressive third place nonetheless that should boost his morale, I have high expectations of what he can do in this Giro.

That was the positive note, but there is also a negative one, in this case two, as the two French stars Bardet and Gaudu hit the ground and lost time, especially Bardet, whose GC options seem to be over. Hope they haven’t been seriously hurt and can reorient their focus, going for stage wins instead of the GC. In the case of Bardet, this is his last month as a professional rider and has won a stage at the Tour and Vuelta, so getting one at the Giro would be the perfect way to end his long and successful career.

So that was it? For a moment, it seemed the GC guys forgot there was a victory at the finish and they'd sprint against all-rounder Vacek today...In any case, Ayuso put in a strong ride today, but did you see the guy behind him? Isaac del Toro didn't even break a sweat today!

I look forward to seeing what he can do in the big mountains.Roglic truly seemed like he just didn't care after his team pulled whole day - I wonder what was said on the teambus this morning.But most important information we've learnt today is that Egan Bernal is back and that's a reason to celebrate for all cycling fans!  

A mountain stage at a leisurely pace. In the breakaway I enjoyed seeing Paul Double, who won points for the mountain classification and will animate the next stages, as Jayco will be fighting for the jersey. What was at stake in today's stage was a measure of strength between the men in the general classification.

The stage made it clear that UAE is much stronger than Red Bull - BORA, especially after Jai Hindley's injury. Juan Ayuso was able to attack on the final climb because his team left him perfectly placed. Isaac del Toro was able to finish 2nd, both ahead of Roglic who arrived badly placed to the attack of Egan Bernal, which caused Ayuso to see the way free to go full throttle. Roglic has the maglia rosa, yes, but this victory is much more important than you might think.

I agree with Jorge's words. Although it has taken 7 stages to see his first victory, UAE has come out of Tagliacozzo very strengthened. Roglic says that he feels it was a good result, but I think that a stage where Juan Ayuso has cut almost all the deficit he had in the first final is a very hard blow for the Slovenian.