Are we all overlooking Simon Yates as the GC contender for Visma | LaB? "Simon gets to prove himself here"

The team boss saw that Yates was able to stick with the other general classification contenders on the climb to Surrel. “It wasn’t an easy day for anyone, as is always the case in the first proper stage of a Grand Tour, so all in all I think we can say we’ve had a good start and can look ahead with confidence,” Reef said, after Wout van Aert took second place in Tirana.

Before the race began, we already spoke with Reef about where exactly Yates stands, or should stand. Sometimes it seems people forget we're talking about a former grand tour winner, who finished fourth in the Tour just two years ago. “Simon can be very strong. But he hasn’t shown that yet this year. So now it’s up to him to prove it here,” the team director said with a big smile.

Among the GC contenders for this year’s Giro d’Italia, there’s a clear divide. Juan Ayuso and Primoz Roglic have already shown strong form in the Tour of Catalonia, while Simon Yates, his brother Adam, and Richard Carapaz seem to be peaking a bit later. “From the beginning of the year, our goal was to have Simon perform well here,” said team director Marc Reef.

“But it’s true that we had hoped he would already be stronger in Tirreno-Adriatico or the Tour of Catalonia. That wasn’t the case. Simon hasn’t yet shown what he’s been capable of in the past. Sometimes it’s a matter of trial and error, figuring out what works and what doesn’t. We also shouldn’t forget that he worked in a certain way for ten years, so he’s had to adjust a few things,” Reef explained.

“That takes some time. How do we operate, what can he expect, how are certain things handled, what can he bring up for discussion? His previous team worked one way, and our approach is a bit different,” continued the team boss, who was with Yates in Catalonia. “He also had a collision during altitude training in February, and he got sick just before Tirreno, but we shouldn’t overstate that. Maybe it had a small impact, but not a major one.”

What could all these elements mean concretely for this Giro? “We do have the confidence that he can be competitive here. What that exactly means is still unclear,” said team director Marc Reef, who has no doubt that the 32-year-old Brit still has room to improve. “And he’ll need to, because the sport keeps evolving. We had a very solid altitude training camp over the past few weeks and we’re definitely starting this Giro with confidence in Simon.”

Yates made it through day one, but he’s not exactly known as a grinder. The early weeks of the Giro may not be ideal for a rider with his characteristics. “The gravel stage is going to be tricky. That’s the first real GC test, because stage 7 is more of a typical Giro uphill finish where not everyone shows their hand yet. Stage 9 is going to be the key stage, but Simon also has the calm and experience to know that a Grand Tour takes three weeks. If something doesn’t go to plan, he accepts it and keeps going.”

So, it’ll all come down to week three, when the long climbs are on the menu. “We’ve prepared broadly and didn’t specifically focus on hour-long efforts. A Grand Tour is more than just that, so you train for everything that might come your way over the three weeks. That said, altitude training naturally helps with climbing.”