Ode to one-man operation Mick van Dijke, keeping ‘brothers’ Pellizzari and Hindley upright at the Giro

“Well. I felt really bad during the first few days, although that was probably also because the racing was so calm. I expected things to start turning around after the Blockhaus stage on day seven, but actually it already started going really well from that rainy day on stage 5. Uphill it is going well too, so I can do my job properly.”

“That is a bit of a fine line. We do have to be careful with what I ask of my body. But with Nico Denz’s crash and Gianni not feeling great, a lot of work has fallen on my shoulders.”

“It starts with letting the right group go up the road. On stage 8 on Saturday, it was just attack after attack all day, so I think I must have done about fifty little sprints. After that, I started positioning our leaders, especially toward the tops of the climbs, so they could go into the descents well placed. At 80 kilograms, that takes a lot of energy if I have to hang on for a long time on certain days.”

“He is a very cheerful guy and super talented. He really came up against himself on the Blockhaus, but I actually think it is beautiful to see that he can race with such freedom and that he dared to try. A lot of guys just switch on their Garmin and ride one pace to the top. Giulio at least gave it a go.”

“Yes, but that is because he is also really good. I have the feeling that Jai is super strong, and as an experienced, calm guy, the combination with Giulio is fantastic. Jai is very important for Giulio, and it matters that we have two leaders.”

“You can see that clearly. Giulio is very exuberant and Jai is a bit more reserved. But they are constantly joking with each other, and in the way they behave they almost seem like two brothers. Jai is the older brother, Giulio the younger one. I don’t really know how else to put it. They really are very different, also in the way they race. Jai follows and fights to be at the front, while Giulio is more relaxed and takes things as they come.”

“From the team side, they have obviously been working flat out to get those two perfectly set up on the bike and prepared. We do not have to be afraid of anyone, but we also have to be realistic that in Jonas Vingegaard we are up against a world-class rider. Physically, he pushes bizarre numbers, but he also has a fantastic body for time trialing.”

“We will do everything we can to take time, as the staff have said. But that will not be simple. This is not PlayStation.”

Bram van der Ploeg ( X: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])