Joday looks like an intriguing race day. Fact Simon Yateswho starts the stage in second position 11 seconds behind Mathieu van der Poel, wants to take the pink jersey, or does the Briton hope that a breakaway wins and fights for control of the maglia rosa?

I suspect he and his BikeExchange-Jayco team would want the latter, but depending on how the stage is run, Yates might be forced to pull the maglia rosa off Van der Poel’s broad shoulders. If so, his team is likely hoping to lose him over the next few days.

After wearing the leader’s jersey for 13 days in 2018 before losing it in dramatic fashion to Chris Froome on Stage 19, Yates knows better than anyone that taking the lead on a grand tour too soon adds a degree of stress. that we mere mortals can find. difficult to understand. The extra media duties and being the center of attention where every move, comment or joke is analyzed to within an inch of one’s life can be exhausting.

Based on the assumption that Van der Poel loses the maglia rosa today – I think that’s a safe assumption – then Yates would probably like a breakaway to cut the road and take the stage win, so don’t don’t be surprised if you see someone like Lorenzo Fortunat (Eolo-Kometa) or Alexander de Marchi (Israel-Premier Tech) works hard at the start of the stage with the aim of making a breakaway. However, if one of Yates’ many rivals in the general classification decides to attack on the final climb, either for the stage or to try to save time on the Briton, then they will have to react. He may not want to take the pink jersey, but he certainly won’t want to lose vital seconds so early in the race.

It will hopefully be a fascinating stage which in recent years has created plenty of drama, which some British cycling fans may wish to forget. It was on this stage that Geraint Thomas in 2020 broke down after a rogue boon brought down the Welshman in the neutral zone to end his hopes, while later in the day Yates was dropped at around eight kilometers from the summit, dropping to 25th place. However, all is not catastrophic. Yates’ then-teammate Esteban Chaves won here in 2018 while the Briton claimed the first of his 13 pink jerseys here on a momentous day for his Australian side.

So what does the scene look like?