Giro mystery finally answered: Why did De Bondt suddenly start pulling for Carapaz?

Wielerflits.be asked De Bondt for an explanation, as the 33-year-old Belgian seemed to have no advantage whatsoever in taking the lead on the Finestre at a time when Carapaz and Del Toro were together, and Yates was already out of sight. Did he just want to accelerate? Was he good friends with Carapaz? Was there a contract in the air at EF? Or does De Bondt dislike Simon Yates?

One assumption turned out to be true, as it now appears. De Bondt wanted to promote himself with his expiring contract in mind. Something that Jacopo Mosca of Lidl-Trek may also have wanted to try by riding for Yates on the Finestre. "That's why I let several teams know that I'm open to talks about a contract,” said De Bondt, who also contacted EF sports director Ken Vanmarcke. “If you're still looking for riders for 2026, I'm on the market," the message read.

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Who knows, De Bondt may have secured his future because Vanmarcke came up to him before the start of stage 20. "He said: "Are you planning anything today? It will be challenging for us to send riders in the early breakaway. But look: if you're there and can play an important role in the final result of the Giro, then this could lead to something serious." That inspired me to do what I did for Carapaz.

It is still unclear whether it's a contract or De Bondt will get another Ecuadorian PlayStation sent to him. Although he says he reduced the gap from 22 to 8 seconds, Del Toro and Carapaz didn't close the gap to Yates. "After that move, I got many questions about why I did it. And that was exactly what I wanted because it made it clear to everyone that I'm available. Whether I'll end up at EF Education-EasyPost, I don't know. If they invite me to sit down with the right people to talk, that's already a victory."