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- Given that Carapaz's behavior was in retaliation for del Toro's on the climb, I'd say that he did lose the race entirely on the climb - but the consequences took some time to be clear.
- I totally agree that the way UAE lost this Giro was terrible. Maybe Visma at the Vuelta is not the best comparison. (That Vuelta was more as if Pog had unexpectedly started this Giro but been too sick for two weeks to compete with Ayuso or surprise leader Del Toro, then over three stages raced back to almost take the lead)
- They were only 1:40 behind Yates at the summit and could have chased on teh descent and in the valley regardless of Wout ! He didn't lose the Giro only on the climb.
- Del Toro has said that he was one major push from Carapaz away from giving up and letting go of the wheel. But, at the right moment for del Toro, Carapaz stopped pushing. So, del Toro is in his rights to recognize that he wasn't actually able to chase Yates down - he didn't have the legs. There was that moment when the two were tantalizingly close to Yates, but del Toro trying to close the gap would have given them the opportunity to 1-2 punch him again. It would have worked, given that he was tired, and then Carapaz likely would have won the Giro. Basically, the moment del Toro let either one of them go forward, he was going to lose the Giro. He had no chance, at his strength level. All of it comes down to the fact that he has said that he didn't have the legs.
- 100%. The "debacle" of deciding which of your three riders is going to win is much different and way better than the debacle of losing the Giro with a whimper on the last competitive stage.
- The 2023 Vuelta was becoming a PR debacle for Visma, as Jonas followed Roglic on Stage 17 and almost wiped out Kuss's lead, just 8 seconds between Kuss and Jonas. But after listening to the fans they threw their weight behind Kuss and turned it into a PR success.
- The ball is in motion for Visma, and they will do another sweep of all 3 grand tours this year.
- NO WAY UAE told anything to Del Toro about Simon Yates. Carapaz was the main focus and I'm confident UAE told Del Toro to stay calm and focus on his main rival only. This was the result.
- 1- Simon Yates redemption (very emotional).
2- The young, fresh, nice Del Toro in pink.
3- Mads Pedersen wearing/winning the most beautiful t-shirt of the cycling: la maglia ciclamino.
- 1. What happened on Finestre is almost entirely the fault of the team directors for UAE and EF. Yes, the riders have a say, but both teams allowed their riders to get locked into a lunatic stare down while the race went up the road. Both team cars should have seen what was happening and *ordered* their riders to snap out of it.
2. As for Wout, I think you underestimate the threat he represented. If Yates had gone over the top with almost any gap at all, once he got on Wout's wheel that lead was in peril. We've seen him do that very thing before, notably stage 5 2022 TDF, when he pulled nearly a minute back on Pog after Jonas had the bike fiasco. Again, that is why what happened is on the DS for UAE and EF. Their job is to see the situation for what it is, and they both should have known better than to let Wout get 10 minutes in the first place.