GC race "is not over yet" for Mikel Landa who eyes second place in Verona

Mikel Landa has returned to his best level after a crash ruled him out of the Giro last year, and he is set to return to the podium of the Grand Tour that revealed his potential as a possible winning candidate. The 2022 Giro showed he can still climb among the best, and will be rewarded for a strong race today in Verona.

"Tomorrow [today] is the individual time trial, and until the last kilometer, it is not over yet," Landa told reporters at the end of the stage yesterday high up in the Dolomites. The Basque is virtually set to finish third, equaling his best ever result in a Grand Tour which came at the 2015 Giro, however he is looking for more.

He starts today's time-trial with a deficit of 26 seconds over Richard Carapaz, however he insists that the gap can be closed and he can ride onto second place, only behind Jai Hindley who stormed the overall classification yesterday.

Landa lost five seconds to Carapaz in the initial time-trial in Budapest, and it is expected that he will not have the advantage in the individual challenge, however he's counting on the possible fatigue in Carapaz and his lack of motivation after yesterday's blow to be on his side.