"They'll be all in" - Giro contenders offer their stage 14 predictions as Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike ready to pounce

It's not just fans who are expecting Jonas Vingegaard and Team Visma | Lease a Bike to flex their muscles and take control of the Giro d'Italia on stage 14's mountain terrain, some of the top general classification contenders are in agreement.

As Bahrain - Victorious seek to defend Afonso Eulalio's pink jersey, Vingegaard is expected to make a big step in his pursuit of Corsa Rosa victory in what is the biggest stage of this edition so far. With five major climbs and over 4000 meters of elevation squeezed into 133 kilometers, it's up and down all day and a stage many podium contenders would have had circled for some time.

Visma | Lease a Bike rider, and loyal domestique to Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss made it clear their intentions at the beginning of the day, while other general classification contenders offered their opinions ahead of a gruelling stage. And, of course, Vingegaard himself answered questions.

Sepp Kuss told Cycling Pro Net: "These kind of stages I always like - not much time to think and just climb after climb. Jonas wants to go for the win. We have a good team for it, all the stages we've been up there with the whole team. We can be confident in ourselves but there's a lot of other guys who are riding strong."

Felix Gall, who has been close to Vingegaard in the previous two mountain finishes and his major oppnent, said: "I'm definitely a bit tired at the end of week two, but I've been certainly much worse in week two of a grand tour. I'm ready, there's not much of a tactic or anything special. I expect Visma to control the day and go hard paceon all the climbs and on the last climb they'll just ramp it up until Jonas [Vingegaard] attacks and I'll try to follow."

Derek Gee-West thinks that Visma | Lease a Bike will go all in for Vingegaard: "I think Visma's going to control today. Today is a really clear day to make a big difference, so I think they'll be all in. It's just about trying to save as much energy as possible through the day."

Others are more focused on survival as illness hinders many in peloton, Pelizzarri might have been a major contender on stage 7's ascent of Blockhaus, but he has suffered a viral infection in the subsequent stages.

Pelizzarri opened up on his condition after he's been suffering with a viral infection: "I cannot say that I'm 100 percent, but we have to try. I spent some really hard days the last three. But now we are here at the start, I hope that everything will be good. I still feel something [Ed. symptoms of viral infection]."

Michael Storer is worried about a tough climb from the beginning of the stage: "Today is a beast of a stage. It's going to be a really really hard day - not just the climbs but also the heat. I think the biggest concern is feeling good from the start, because if you don't have a good feeling you don't have time to find good sensations."

Vingegaard knows that stage 14 could be decisive, and thinks that his team have to focus on a stage win - at least from the beginning of the day.

The Dane said: "It's true that it's the first real big mountain stage. It's the first time that we've done more than one real climb. Obviously it's going to be a hard day. Hopefully we have the legs to go for the win, at least for now we have to plan to go for it."

He added: "I think we have the strength to control. I think we've shown in the last stage that the team is very strong and we have the capability. It will be full gas racing, we are ready for a hard, warm day. We will do everything we can."