Sean Kelly questions UAE tactics ahead of Alps at Giro d'Italia: "I would be really peed off"

Cycling
Friday, 19 May 2023 at 12:48
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Stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia was a day for the breakaway to battle for the win and the peloton knew it beforehand. The likes of UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma had riders in the breakaway however none were in contention for the stage. Questions were layed on the tactics ahead of a key stage in the Giro.

“I would be really peed off. You would expect him to get orders from the team director and say to him ‘OK, knock it off now, there’s no point because the race is gone," Sean Kelly said in Eurosport's The Cycling Show regarding the effort of Davide Formolo towards the end of the stage. The group of four riders that attacked with around 90 kilometers to go went on to battle for the stage win, several minutes ahead of the remaining 22 riders. Some knocked off their pace as soon as the riders hit the main climb of the day whilst others, including the Italian, gave it their all to pursue a minimal result.

“If you’re a rider who’s in your first Grand Tour, then you get a bit carried away and you can understand. But for Formolo to be doing this… the days to come are very important. It’s surprising that he’s been left to do this and continue pushing at this pace," Kelly continues. "When you see where they are on the road, you would expect to knock off your effort and wait for another day.”

With João Almeida only 22 seconds behind Geraint Thomas in the overall classification UAE are very much within the fight for the victory at the Giro, but roles are not much set within the team. Formolo, a key domestique for the Portuguese spent a lot of bullets on the eve of a crucial mountain stage, whilst Jay Vine also commented yesterday how he does not care about the overall classification which the team is reportedly still keen on having him eye it.

“Not when you’re already a Giro d’Italia stage winner surely and when, in less than 24 hours, you’re supposed to be leading up one of the biggest mountains in the whole Giro," Rob Hatch added. "It’s the first big appointment in the mountains for the GC guys. I mean, you just question the logic.”

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