UAE's Finestre blunder baffles Thomas: "I’ve got all kinds of conspiracy theories running through my head"

Thomas couldn't believe what he was watching on Saturday. Isaac Del Toro and Richard Carapaz blew their chance at the overall victory on the Colle delle Finestre. "I was annoyed, happy, confused, everything while watching the stage," said the Welshman. "You start on the Finestre, and EF does a lead-out like the Mur de Huy. Carapaz launches a monster attack, and only Del Toro can follow. But Yatesy ultimately wins the GC by 4 minutes. What happened in between?!"

De Plus refers to the 2016 Giro d'Italia, where Steven Kruijswijk lost the pink jersey, and Vincenzo Nibali took control of the race during the final mountain stage. Thomas also lost the Giro two years ago to Primoz Roglic on the last chance. "The big difference for me was that I tried, and Kruijswijk did too. I feel like Del Toro, and UAE didn't. I need to review a few interviews because it was all surreal."

Of course, the young Mexican's performance is hugely impressive, especially when considering his team role. "Don't get me wrong: he's 21 and finished second in his first Grand Tour (Del Toro rode the Vuelta a España last year, ed.). That's a good result. But the way he rode the race is completely different. It's as if something happened during the night."

At times, the spectacle at Finestre was painful to watch, even for Thomas. "Del Toro followed Carapaz very well, and when Yates went, he didn't take the lead. Carapaz rode at the front, which I didn't understand. Let Del Toro ride; he's wearing pink; it's his race to lose. In the end, Carapaz stopped, and Del Toro didn't even take over. They stopped for 30 seconds, and Derek Gee came back. Then Carapaz went hard again. He did the right thing then, but Del Toro could follow."

When Carapaz couldn't get away, the chasers kept their legs still. As a result, Yates disappeared over the horizon and dominated the Giro. But Carapaz and Del Toro had been rock solid throughout the Giro. "They were probably the two strongest riders in the entire race. Don't get me wrong, Yates deserves the victory, he took his chance, but..."

De Plus mentions Del Toro's inexperience, who, at his young age, may not yet know how to ride a Grand Tour at his best. "You can see the difference with Yates: an experienced rider who has already done 10, 15 Grand Tours." Thomas, however, responds firmly. "Do you need experience to know that third place is slipping away? Even my son Macs would know that, and he's five."

Another major blunder by UAE was letting van Aert ride. Zonneveld was annoyed by this, but Thomas doesn't understand it either. "You know van Aert is upfront. So you don't give him too much space, right? I thought maybe Del Toro wasn't good enough and that he didn't want Carapaz to win. But if he goes, he can easily follow. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Then, they came to a complete standstill. My father-in-law could have attacked them, and he's slow on a bike."

The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike received a lot of praise, but the former Tour winner doesn't understand the changing opinions about van Aert. "I'm van Aert's biggest fan; I've defended him many times on this podcast. But it annoys me that people put him on a pedestal one week and then tear him down the next. Can we just keep this in perspective and say: well done, you were at the front: Well done, you were at the front. Smart move. It was an obvious tactic, though."

In the valley, van Aert rode ahead of his leader, and behind him, it remained quiet. Del Toro and Carapaz let the gap grow from 2 minutes to no less than 5. "Even when that group returned, UAE teammates weren't even riding at the front. I won't say it, but all kinds of conspiracy theories are running through my head. Speaking of brainfarts..."