Visma | Lease a Bike still processing UAE's tactics, wonder-Wout, and 'great rider' Yates on pink Giro day

The big question on the minds of all analysts and cycling fans: was this the initial idea for stage 20 at Visma? "Yes, it was, but we also knew that the chances of succeeding were slim. We wanted to keep up with the big groups to at least create this opportunity, although we staff members did say among ourselves that in the best-case scenario, Wout (van Aert, ed.) would be there. But we didn't expect them to get such a big lead."

"The fact that Wout was indeed there and that they let the gap grow to ten minutes helped a lot," Reef observed. And that wasn't the end of the 'luck' regarding external factors. “The fact that EF Education-EasyPost pushed so hard on the Finestre, on an hour-long climb... They were going so fast that we felt they were digging their own grave. They made it difficult for themselves."

Read more below the photo.

At Visma | Lease a Bike, they will never say out loud that the tactics of UAE Team Emirates-XRG were strange, to say the least. Reef chose his words carefully and said only: "Every team decides how it wants to organize things, and I think UAE only wanted to go with one rider because they had already lost Jay Vine and Juan Ayuso in this Giro. It's a choice, and it worked out well for us."

"We did ask ourselves: would we have done the same? Not necessarily, because you don't want someone to be able to get support after the Finestre," Reef continued. "But maybe they chose not to do that, which is something I don't know and don't want to speculate about. We wanted someone to come along, just in case. You don't want to rule out this scenario in advance. We tried to keep all options open."

Read more below the photo.

According to the sports director, it was primarily thanks to Van Aert that the Belgian survived the Finestre. "The leading group started hard, and Wout was so good that he could keep up the pace and get to the top. He couldn't go any faster, and we couldn't slow Simon down either. But Wout informed us of where he was so we could time it ourselves. Three kilometers from the top, we knew he was going to make it, and Wout reached the top in fifth or sixth place."

After securing the pink jersey, the rest was up to Yates, who said that he had been thinking about the Finestre since winter, the climb where he lost the Giro in 2018. "It wasn't very explicit, but we did say right away that this was a place where it could happen. This climb was like no other in the Giro; you could make a difference here. Simon was confident about that and determined to show something special after 2018."

Read more below the photo.

Yet it never seemed like Yates would be capable of such a feat. He rode well throughout the Giro and stayed out of trouble but was almost always dropped by riders who seemed slightly better. At Visma | Lease a Bike, however, they remained patient. "We have always valued Simon for who he is; he doesn't have to be anyone else. He was allowed to be disappointed when things didn't go his way or when he lost time if that was not what he wanted."

He continued: "Ultimately, he found himself in a situation where Del Toro and Carapaz focused on each other while Del Toro was still mainly watching Simon in the second week. That turnaround suited him well. Now, he could come from behind and seize his opportunity. The really great riders always show what they're made of when they're determined and really motivated to prove themselves. That's how he achieved this performance."

From the car, Reef remained passive for a long time, even when the staff members realized that the Giro was going to Yates. "On the Finestre, we stayed calm, which meant Simon did too. The differences were very big, and at one point, I wondered if it was possible. They had been wrong about the time difference several times in this Giro, so I carefully considered what to say and when."

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