'We underestimated Simon Yates' - UAE Team Emirates-XRG admit Giro d'Italia mistake

UAE Team Emirates-XRG sports director Fabio Baldato has admitted they "underestimated" Simon Yates (Visma | Lease a Bike) during the decisive stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia, where tactical decisions on the Colle delle Finestre climb ultimately cost Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in the defence of his pink jersey. 

"We certainly underestimated Simon, who was exceptional," Baldato told BiciSport. "To judge the performance he produced, you just have to look at his time [on the Finestre. It was a war of nerves and legs between Isaac and Richard [Carapaz], and unfortunately, it went like that. The strongest and the smartest rider won."

Stage 20 unfolded on the slopes of the Colle delle Finestre in dramatic fashion, where Del Toro and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) marked each other, whilst Yates took advantage and rode away. Both riders had made aggressive accelerations on the lower slopes of the climb after a thermonuclear leadout from EF Education-EasyPost for their Ecuadorian leader. Del Toro moved directly onto the wheel of Carapaz, showing that the 21-year-old was focused on his closest rival. Yates, however, didn’t follow the initial move and worked his way steadily to the duo when they looked at each other and hesitated. 

"They watched one another. They both made violent accelerations at the bottom of the climb," Baldato said. "The instruction for Isaac was to follow Carapaz, because we expected him to go hard at the start of the climb."

One of the key factors that swung the Giro in Yates’s favour was the exceptional work of teammate Wout van Aert. The Belgian was placed as a satellite rider in the breakaway to make it over the Finestre ahead of his GC leader to support him in the finale. Van Aert made it to the top ahead of Yates, and the duo connected towards the bottom of the descent where Van Aert buried himself in the valley for his leader.

"Isaac knew Van Aert was in front, we reminded him at the bottom of the climb. Halfway up the climb, we encouraged him to take Simon into consideration too," Baldato said. "We only said it once because he's the one on the bike, he's the one who knows how his legs are feeling, and his aim was to get to the top of the climb with Carapaz."

Behind, Del Toro and Carapaz refused to work with one another as their game of bluff on the Finestre continued into the valley roads, and at this point, it became clear where the pink jersey was heading.

"He preferred to keep some strength for the end, and then they stayed together and disagreed over the chase," the manager added.

Despite suffering heartbreak so close to Rome, Baldato expressed pride in Del Toro’s second-place finish on his Giro debut but also acknowledged the agony of coming so close to glory.

"If you'd said to us after a week that he'd finish second, we'd all have signed for that. Losing the Giro on the last weekend hurts him, me and the team, all of us," the manager reflected. "There are regrets, but now it's easy to make an analysis and give a verdict."

Baldato suggested the special performance that the young Mexican delivered in his Giro debut, and that finishing 2nd at such a young age bodes very well for the future.

"He's finished second at the Giro at 21 years of age. Some people will say he threw it away, and that's fine. But it's part of the experience," the manager concluded. "That's cycling, that's life. You fall and you get up for the next race."