"He did it to show that he can drop anyone" - Thijs Zonneveld condemns Richard Carapaz's Mortirolo attack
Cycling
The stage 17 with popular mountain passes Tonale and Mortirolo didn't seem like one that would see too many attacks, but at least one man clearly had another idea. Under the top of Mortirolo, Richard Carapaz took off for an ambitious attack, but with a long rolling section afterwards, the group of favourites eventually fought their way back and so Carapaz didn't gain any time on Isaac del Toro today.
"On the Mortirolo he just makes a stupid attack," Thijs Zonneveld makes his opinion of Ecuadorian's offensive clear on Eurosport. "Once on the flat, it was still 35 kilometers to the finish... This was an attack that was doomed to fail and above all to show that he can drop anyone. With that, he has shown extra that he is the man to beat on Friday and Saturday."
Had that move worked out and Carapaz took the pink jersey, would that even be a wise decision? "He doesn't have the team to defend the pink," thinks Zonneveld, looking at the EF Education-EasyPost lineup. The trio Georg Steinhauser, Alexander Cepeda and Mikkel Honoré have supported their leader very well throughout this Giro, but in the high mountains of stage 19 and 20, Carapaz could easily find himself alone under the attack of stronger teams.
Richard Carapaz launches an offensive just under the top of Mortirolo
Where is UAE?
On contrary, UAE Team Emirates - XRG certainly do have the manpower necessary to defend Del Toro's pink. At least on the paper. The reality is a bit different, Zonneveld has the impression. Only one of the Mexican's teammates seems to be truly reliable in the mountains. "His team was barely present, except for Majka."
It's not clear if Juan Ayuso is really that badly beaten up that he can't even hit the front of the peloton, but why does he even continue in the race then? The seems to be far from united for the goal of winning Giro with Del Toro: "Ayuso sat at the back from the start with a long tooth and let himself be dropped as soon as he could. Vine also gave up."
Del Toro declared his intention at the last rest day to race more defensively, but two days later his closing down attack of Damiano Caruso at the start of stage on his own. "His team can't keep him calm, because this didn't make any sense." Where are his teammates? Just watching from sidelines. "Apparently he doesn't have the confidence that his team will ride at the front, or something."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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