Contador saw Del Toro and Carapaz play it safe in Giro stage 20: "What I don’t understand…"

First, let's hear from one of the key players himself. After Sunday's final stage, UAE team boss Mauro Gianetti returned to the subject once the emotions had subsided. "We could have done better, that's clear," the sports director began his account to this website. It was mainly Del Toro's passive approach that drew criticism from the team. But: "It's easy to talk after the fact because then you no longer feel the pain in your legs," said Gianetti.

Where did UAE go wrong? "We should have had someone in the breakaway where Wout van Aert was. And there is only one Van Aert who has decided a Grand Tour before. We would have liked to have been there, too, but it was a tough start, and the riders were suffering. We had worked hard in the days before and lost Vine and Ayuso in this Giro, which made it difficult," said the sports director.

And so the Giro was lost on the penultimate day by UAE and Del Toro, with Carapaz also losing his second place. Both were criticized, but even Alberto Contador, after the Giro d'Italia had been decided, couldn't understand the race tactics of the second and third in the GC. "They didn't try to win. I don't understand that when one is about to lose first place and the other second place, they don't say: "Hey, let's do a team time trial, you and me. Let's at least try to deal with this difference." They fell completely silent on the descent... I don't get it," said the Spanish former rider on Eurosport.

That's how Contador and the rest of the cycling world saw Simon Yates win the Giro after an exciting finale. And according to the Spaniard, that's quite an achievement. "In 2018, he was very close, and now he's redeemed himself on the same climb, in a stage where he wasn't the big favorite, namely the Colle delle Finestre. Now his name is on that big trophy," said Contador.