Visma | Lease a Bike "won an important psychological battle against UAE Team Emirates," says former Danish pro

Holm thoroughly enjoyed this edition of the Giro, where unpredictability was the name of the game. "What if the favorites had lived up to their status: Roglic crashed, as he so often does, and UAE's tactics required both advanced training and experience to understand,” the 62-year-old Dane wrote in his column for Feltet.dk. “It makes for great entertainment when the team with the biggest budget in cycling doesn't have the highest tactical IQ."

Nevertheless, he also praises the Emirates team, especially for one rider. "A pleasant surprise for UAE was the 'instinctive rider' Isaac Del Toro, who gave the race an extra dimension of madness and unpredictability that only a young and ambitious rider can," he says of the rider who finished second overall. "An elegant rider who rides without thinking that the race lasts three weeks, you can't help but love him, regardless of the result."

But it was Yates who took the pink jersey after the bizarre ride over the Colle delle Finestre. "Simon Yates broke the curse of 2018 and was simply the best of the day in the twentieth stage. That's why Carapaz and Del Toro ended up in a duel with no winners, destroying each other. A good piece of advice for Carapaz would be to steer clear of Mexico for the next 50-60 years when he returns to Ecuador," notes the former rider and sports director.

Yates' victory came unexpectedly, which is more important than just for the Giro. "We should note that, with the Tour de France in mind, Visma | Lease a Bike has won an important psychological battle against UAE Team Emirates. Undoubtedly, the UAE super team has suffered a mental blow, and Jonas Vingegaard's team has regained morale and confidence after the Giro."

As a Dane, Holm also has to talk about the fantastic Giro of his compatriots, with Mads Pedersen in the lead role. "Pedersen is no longer angry that his Lidl-Trek management traded his participation in the Tour de France for a plane ticket to Italy. We will not likely forget four stage wins, a jersey for the points classification, and a Danish record for stage wins anytime soon." In addition to Pedersen, Kasper Asgreen (EF Education - EasyPost) also won a stage.