Two storylines at Visma | Lease a Bike: Yates furious about failed plan, but sports director Reef ("That's how we planned it") counters

Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk, and Bart Lemmen seemed to be doing a great job for their British leader. But after the race, he was furious. "We had a completely different plan than what we ended up doing," he said, clearly frustrated in the flash interview. "We'll have to look at that with the team. I don't want to say anything more about it." Yates finished seventh in the stage, 24 seconds behind Del Toro and Carapaz.

He is now third in the GC, but the gap to the pink jersey has suddenly increased to 1.21 minutes. With the ride to Setrière, anything is still possible, especially with the Colle delle Finestre. But Yates is extremely disappointed and realizes it will be challenging to secure the pink jersey. "I don't know what's possible on the Finestre. It's also gravel, which I don't like. But we'll see how the legs are; they were good today. Hopefully, they'll be the same tomorrow; then, I might be able to try something."

So the plan got messed up, according to the British climber. But sports director Marc Reef disagrees. "That's how we planned it. We wanted to make the race challenging, and the guys did a fantastic job. Ultimately, it came down to the legs, and those two were stronger on the climb. Simon was able to keep up the first time, but he couldn't do it here near the finish. It was pretty fair."

That Yates couldn't keep up was perhaps to be expected, considering how tough it became for the GC contenders. The focus is now not only on the pink jersey but also on defending the podium place. "It was just a matter of hanging on, but when you're not feeling great anymore, and those two are still so explosive, it's also about staying with the group. We also have to think about Derek Gee, who is only a minute behind. The podium is also important, but tomorrow is another day, and anything is possible."

We saw Chris Froome turn the Giro upside down on that grueling climb when Yates wore the pink jersey. "We'll see what we can do tomorrow," says the Dutch sports director, who remains realistic. "Del Toro, especially Carapaz, have been a little better every day. But we've seen in the past that the Finestre is a killer, and there will be a fight there. We're confident we can push further than we have so far."

Wilco Kelderman was one of the most important teammates for Yates. Halfway up the Col de Joux, he really cranked up the pressure. He also says that they simply followed the plan. "Of course, I don't know what happened at the front, but this was somewhat the plan. Simon benefits from a fast and long pace, and that's what we did." The 32-year-old British rider was unaware that he was already more than a minute behind the pink jersey.

Halfway up the second-to-last climb, however, the lead rider of Visma | Lease a Bike was flying solo. At that point, the race couldn't really be made any faster. "I think we did our best, and it was tough enough," said his teammate. "I think tomorrow will be another tough day, and then we'll see if anything is possible."