‘White jersey would be a dream’ – Cian Uijtdebroeks ready for Pogačar offensive in Giro d’Italia

In a season as exhausting as this one, the Giro d’Italia plans carefully laid out during the winter training camps would likely not remain intact until May. The Visma-Lease a Bike selection has been reshuffled several times in recent weeks, with a litany of setbacks excluding Wout van Aert, Wilco Kelderman and Koen Bouwman.

Comparable replacements are hard to find, even on a roster as expansive as theirs. When Bouwman dropped out due to illness this week, the former Giro king of the mountains was replaced in the line-up by Tim van Dijke, a man better suited to be part of sprinter Olav Kooij’s lead-up train.