Bruyneel doesn’t blame Del Toro — He points to Carapaz: "He actually rode against Del Toro"

According to Bruyneel, the key to the decisive mountain stage was clear early in the race. "When you see those 30 riders in the lead, and you see Wout van Aert there, I think it's a huge mistake for EF and UAE not to have anyone with him," he said. "They probably underestimated Simon Yates; we all did. I said it would be between two riders but had already discarded Yates. How wrong I was."

"EF Education - EasyPost, in particular, should have played it smarter. Carapaz had already used up all his domestiques at the foot of the Colle delle Finestre. If he had been able to drop Del Toro, he should have had someone with him. Of course, it's not easy, but if that group had gained 10 minutes... If UAE had Arrieta with them, he would have made it. If EF had Steinhauser with them, he would have also made it over the climb. Those are two big engines for the valley.“

A thrilling but bizarre duel ensued between Carapaz and Del Toro on the grueling gravel climb. This allowed Yates to pull away. "You could see that he was extremely focused on Carapaz, who did everything he could to drop him on the Finestre. They both made mistakes, but Carapaz made the biggest one. I get the impression that once Carapaz knew he couldn't get away from Del Toro, he didn't care anymore. He actually rode against Del Toro. They are two Latinos with character. Carapaz is the big winner of stage races, and no one likes to see the youngster snatch your popularity."

Strong words from the former sports director of US Postal Service. Given the situation, he thinks Del Toro's passive approach was entirely logical. "He's responding to Carapaz, who constantly tries to break away. It's easy to understand that 21-year-old Del Toro, who has little experience with three weeks of racing, doesn't cooperate with Carapaz. Whenever he takes the lead, he knows that Carapaz will come from behind and attack again."

But underestimating Yates proved fatal. He rode away at lightning speed. "Simon Yates got better and better on the Colle delle Finestre," Bruyneel observed. "He was flying at the end. The proof is that he improved the fastest time on the climb. We calculated that he was riding at about 6.1 watts per kilo for an hour after three weeks and at altitude. That's insane. And did anyone tell him he has a saddle? I don't understand how he does it; it's insane."

The Brit continued to pull away and, at one point, was virtually in the pink jersey. "When it was a minute, they should have both thought: this guy is on fire. And especially in the car: they know that a monster like Van Aert is at the front. Mistakes were made there. Even if they were 30 seconds behind the leaders, they were done. No one had a Van Aert." Thijs Zonneveld and Geraint Thomas also pointed to Van Aert's presence as a key moment.