(Tried posting this yesterday but got swallowed up in the entrails of BF forums. Slightly edited to reflect current stages)
A few random observations from what is turning out to be a significant as well as entertaining Giro:
1. That Biniam Girmay is something special. He’s a quick read, learning from his positioning issues earlier to launch a ridiculously long sprint. Classy, too, giving the team the credit. A shame about the eye injury; fortunately it sounds like he’ll make a full recovery.
2. Speaking of classy, nice touch from MVdP with the thumbs up and the big hug. I think we’re seeing the beginning of a rivalry that people will talk about in years to come between two riders who genuinely respect each other.
3. Speaking of team, Girmay was right. I think we’re seeing the maturation of Intermarche Wanty Gobert as a team. They’re learning, if not yet to control a race, at least to manage a race. In earlier stages they looked less sure of themselves, following wheels and looking to other teams. This time Hirt, Rota, and Pozzovivo(!) made themselves known and shut down everything dangerous in the last 10 km. Still a work in progress, but they’re learning quickly. Which brings up …
4. The Alpecin announcement surely came as no huge surprise (though if they’d stayed pro that wouldn’t have been a huge surprise either) and this stage shows why. MVdP is AF, and AF are too thin to manage races, especially well into a stage race or deep into a long one-day. MVdP is so strong he’s gotten away with it in the Classics, but a GT is a different matter. And with Girmay coming into his own and Pogacar thinking, “Hey, Flanders wasn’t so hard” he’ll need more help even in the Classics. AF will get Merlier and Philipsen for the Tour but they’re still top-heavy with little in the way of support. Not to mention they’ll lose Merlier next year. WT status should help build a deeper team.
5. That announcement also clarified things for certain teams. Lotto are just under the drop and desperately needed to win today. Ewan was 5th, but what could he have done if the team hadn’t abandoned their captain yesterday to come in solo, 30 min down and dead last (he did have Kluge for a while). They had no chance to win yesterday and didn’t come close, so why not pace Ewan back to save his energy and help his morale? They’d still get automatic wildcard status even if they dropped to Pro, but attracting riders will be that much more difficult.
BEX are on the bubble and also one hot mess. They’re another one-person team, but built for the GTs and big one weeks, which is a hard way to make a living in the age of Pog and Rog (even harder if Bernal comes back). The one thing they’ve got going for them is the haplessness of Lotto and Israel (who are surely going down) behind them. Much the same goes for EF, who’ve scored the fewest points of any team in the top 20. They started the season a safe 12th and now are about to lose 16th to Cofidis, who started in the relegation zone. But EF do have BEX, Lotto, and Israel behind them so they should stay safe.