Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious): Superdomestique or certified champion? Landa: A career carry water bottles or a true GC champion? (Photo: FABIO FERRARI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Third place in Verona may just be a part of the Almeida long-game. Hanging tough under pressure on the Blockhaus summit and salvaging a race-ending split on the rampage around Turino shows Almeida has a full pipeline of potential.Īt 23 years old, Almeida has the time to stretch his wings and the opportunities to strive for higher. But a podium placing would show the progress UAE Emirates no doubt wants to see before Almeida partners Tadej Pogačar at the Vuelta this summer.Ī third-place finish may not rock pro cycling record books, but there’s no hiding Almeida has ridden one of the most resilient races so far. So yeah, if I get third at least I’m happy with my performance.”Ī defensive race for third ain’t going to be exciting. I was really happy, so if I can get the one better and being the final podium is always special. I was close for 2020 and it was really good for me. “To be in the top three guys is totally special. “A podium spot would be like a victory for me,” he said.Īfter finishing in the top-6 of his first two grand tours, Almeida seems content to target a step on the podium. Is a podium finish enough for a rider on a five-year deal with one of the richest teams in the world? Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates): Is third enough? Almeida has youth and time at his side – is racing for third enough? (Photo: Luca Bettini/AFP via Getty Images) In one week’s time, victory, or even another podium finish, would put Hindley right back on the GC map. 2021 was a no-show and the Aussie felt an anomaly. Nobody touted Hindley as a prime pink jersey candidate two weeks ago. So far looking the sole climber capable of matching the explosive exuberance of Carapaz and flanked by a deep green army of Bora-Hansgrohe bodyguards, Hindley could even pull on pink in Verona. This year is Hindley’s year to show 2020 was no one-off. “After each setback I kept losing the form and that was hard to compete at a decent level but ultimately a change of team was a new start and breath of fresh air. “It was really frustrating to have all these setbacks and have all that stuff going on,” he said. Second to Tao Geoghegan Hart in what some see as a decaffeinated post-COVID Giro shorn of big stars came as a blessing and a curse.Īfter lighting up Aussie hopes with his breakout Giro in the wild and wacky pandemic season, Hindley faded from view in a 2021 riddled with setbacks and sickness. The weight of a podium finish in Giro shrouded in what-ifs lies heavy on Jai Hindley’s back. “I wanted to prove to people, and more so myself, that I was capable of riding at that level and that 2020 wasn’t just a fluke, like a lot of people on social media think.” Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe): One hit wonder or top of the pops? Hindley has the albatross of a post-COVID breakout to get free of. He’s got the team to support him and the high altitudes that favor him.Ĭarapaz had a very big chance to make a GC “big three” a “big four” in the next week. But before we start popping the corn for what could be a sizzling summer in Spain, Carapaz needs to conquer the Giro’s final week. The Ecuadorian ace was resilient but couldn’t crack the power of Pogačar at last year’s Tour and blew out before Bernal and Roglič ran rampant through the final week of the 2021 Vuelta.Ī Pogačar-Roglič-Carapaz collision is currently on the cards for this year’s Vuelta. “I feel even better than I did in 2019, and in that case, it was far from assured, so that gives me even more confidence for the week to come.”Ī second Giro title would kick Carapaz up to the level of Bernal in the Ineos team bus and push him to the top of the GC peloton.Ī faceoff with Pogačar or Roglič would be the true test for Carapaz. Richard Carapaz is one of the most dynamic and consistent GC racers in the bunch.īut is he up there with the “big three” of Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and Egan Bernal? Here are the questions facing the pink jersey protagonists ahead of a final-week thriller: Richard Carapaz: On par with the ‘big three?’ Pogačar, Roglič, Bernal … and Carapaz? (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
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