Everyone is watching Visma — but on stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia, Visma will be watching everyone else

Stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia belonged to the sprinters — but stage 2 on Bulgarian soil already demands some climbing. In the finale, the peloton will face the Luaskovets Pass: 3.9 kilometres at 6.8%. Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Jesper Mørkøv outlines the team's plan.

"Stage 2 is too hard for the pure sprinters — though I can perhaps see a Tobias Lund Andresen surviving it," Lidl-Trek sports director Gregory Rast told us ahead of the Giro.

"But it depends on how the race is ridden, because you have around three kilometres at 8% and then another ten to twelve kilometres over fairly technical roads. That is serious — especially if a Jonas Vingegaard wants to do something."

So what does Vingegaard want? "For us, the most important thing remains getting through the first three days in Bulgaria as well as possible," says Marc Reef on the Visma | Lease a Bike team website. Similar words were heard from Mørkøv after stage 1.

"For us, the priority is getting through the opening days, knowing that there are serious mountains ahead later in the race. We hope Jonas will be able to make the difference there," says the fellow Dane and compatriot of team leader Jonas Vingegaard.

"There are plenty of riders who can dream of the stage win," adds the Dutch sports director, who above all hopes his men will stay healthy ahead of Monday's transfer to Italy.

While all eyes are on Visma | Lease a Bike, they in turn are watching an entirely different type of rider. "It'll be an interesting day. The finale is hilly — too hard for some sprinters. But I think the punchier types and the strong finishers will certainly want to go for it."