Why Wout Poels and XDS Astana should also target the mountains classification in the Giro d’Italia

Poels is likely relieved the opening stretch of the Giro is behind him, even if the race dynamics are still unclear. “Those first few days are always hectic,” said the Dutchman, who wasn’t overly impressed with the start in Albania. “I wouldn’t go there on holiday, to be honest. There’s nothing special about it and the traffic isn’t very safe, with lots of potholes. But the people were friendly.”

It’s been a busy period for the stage hunter. After winning in the Tour of Turkey, he didn’t even have time to return home. “I came straight from Turkey, just kept going. That race ended on Sunday, so I would’ve only been able to fly to Monaco on Monday and then head to Albania again on Tuesday. I knew this in advance, so I had prepared myself for it.”

“I figured I should be able to ride top five in Turkey, but winning is still something else,” Poels added. “It’s nice heading into the Giro with two wins in the bag. It’s good for the confidence, the palmarès and for the team’s points. Of course, Turkey is a different level. Winning a stage in the Giro, or in any Grand Tour, is a lot harder. But it definitely helps the confidence.”

After missing selection in 2024, Poels is eager to complete his trilogy of Grand Tour stage wins. “I wouldn’t say I’ve been obsessing over it. You just build toward a goal like always,” said the climber, who isn’t too concerned about being closely marked. “Everyone here wants to win so I don’t think the other team buses are telling their riders to follow my wheel specifically.”

XDS Astana is racing this Giro without a GC leader which opens up opportunities. Lorenzo Fortunato currently holds the blue mountains jersey, which at the end of the Giro is worth 180 UCI points, the same as a stage win. “If things go well that could be something to really go after. Just like I did in the Tour a few years ago, get in the break once and start collecting points.”

Fortunato already has 49 points in the mountains classification but also crashed during Thursday’s stage. “I picked up some KOM points which could be important in the third week since I’m already close to fifty. After the big crash I just rode calmly to the finish. Friday is a day where the breakaway has a shot because the stage starts uphill,” said the Italian.

What does he expect from the stage to Marsia? “We’ll have to see how the GC teams handle the early moves. I definitely want to be in the break but I’m only two minutes and thirty seconds down so I don’t know if they’ll let me go. I actually wanted to lose a few minutes today but everyone ended up getting the same time,” Fortunato smiled after stage six.