UAE analyzes striking tactics regarding Del Toro and knew Giro was lost on Finestre: "Wout was Wout"

"We could have done better, that's for sure," the Italian quickly admitted. UAE was heavily criticized in various analyses, with Del Toro left isolated on the Finestre, Rafal Majka, Brandon McNulty, and Adam Yates too far behind, Wout van Aert too far ahead in a leading group, and a lack of responsibility in the final, when Del Toro lost his pink jersey to Yates and the Mexican seemed to accept this without a fight.

"It's easy to talk in hindsight because then you no longer feel the pain in your legs," Gianetti responded. "We should have had someone with us in the breakaway, where Wout van Aert was. And there is only one van Aert, who has done this before in a Grand Tour. We would have liked to have been there, too, but it was a tough start, and the riders were suffering. We had worked hard the days before and lost Vine and Ayuso in this Giro, which made it difficult."

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UAE couldn't get anyone up to the front and saw the leading group with van Aert pull away from the peloton by almost ten minutes. EF Education-EasyPost closed the gap a little, and Carapaz's team then went full throttle at the foot of the Colle del Finestre. "That caused a lot of lactic acid to build up, which Carapaz and Isaac paid for halfway up the climb. Simon attacked, and there was a moment of hesitation. That lasted too long, and the gap became too big in three minutes."

Del Toro and Carapaz played games with each other to the top, with Yates 1.40 minutes ahead at the summit. That gave him only a 19-second lead over Del Toro, but according to Gianetti, the race was already decided at the top of the Finestre. "When you're suffering, you don't always have the clarity of mind to make the right choices, and if you wait too long, it's sometimes too late."

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Although Del Toro still had a chance at the top of the Finestre, according to Gianetti, that was not the case. "Someone like Van Aert doesn't make the difference on the climbs, but in a valley like that and the first kilometers of the Sestriere. It was already decided there. Yates was able to recover on the wheel. That made it difficult because you had to get the team working together, and that didn't happen. That's why we lost the pink jersey."

According to Gianetti, Del Toro could only have saved his Giro if he had worked well with Carapaz. Still, Carapaz could only win the Giro if he dropped Del Toro, so there was no point in him cooperating on the way to Sestriere. Moreover, according to the UAE boss, Yates was incredibly strong. "Hats off to him; he was impressive. The first riders behind Del Toro and Carapaz were four minutes behind, so they were also riding really hard. What van Aert and Yates did was incredibly strong. Simon was the best on Saturday, and Wout was Wout."

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The question remains: what does the future hold for Isaac Del Toro? The Mexican rider may not have won the Giro, but he certainly made a big impression in the second Grand Tour of his career, wearing the pink jersey for eleven days and winning a stage. "Our plan for Isaac remains the same. He is a pure and fantastic talent, discovering himself just as the world is discovering him. He is still so young and has been through a lot in two weeks. But I told him: get used to it because this is your future."

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