Thoughts from the rest day

How dare the riders of the Giro take a rest day after cycling 1,398.2 kilometres in just nine days! What do they think they are? Exhausted?

Alright so maybe a day off will do them good and do the racing good once they hit the mountains, hopefully that little bit fresher. So until the racing resumes tomorrow, he's a couple of quick thoughts:



RYDER HESJEDAL TENDS TO GET STRONGER

He was lucky in many regards yesterday when he appeared to crack on that final short climb ... because it was sort. Had this been a serious climb and not just a bump in the road by comparison to what is to come, he may have lost major minutes as opposed to the single minute and six seconds he did lose to Nibali.

Hesjedal is famous for coming good in the later half of three week Grand Tours and if he truly can regroup during tomorrow's rest day he might yet find a way back into this race what with all the big mountains still to come. Still, a 3 minute, 11 seconds deficit to Nibali overall is a big ask for anyone to overcome, but don't count him out quite yet.

Hesjedal is an aggressive rider and if he does recover back into form you can expect to see him attack virtually every day the race goes upwards. He'll either put his rivals in trouble or he'll blow to bits. Either way he'll not go down without a fight.

EVANS IS IN STELTH MODE

With all this talk about what is wrong with Hesjedal, why Wiggins cannot go down hill, and whether Nibali can stand up to the pressure of being an Italian in the lead of his home tour, Cadel Evans is ticking along nicely with little to no attention on him. He sits just 29 seconds behind Nibali in the GC and could yet prove to be his biggest rivals. He has no trouble going down hill and has rarely looked in trouble.

I say rarely because there was one stage last week when he got distanced briefly but was able to work his way back on by the finish. Actually, he even gained time that day finishing second to take a time bonus.

He won't stay hidden forever though. Heading into the mountains he'll come to the fore and either prove what I have been thinking for a while, that at 36 years of age now he won't have the legs to win another Grand Tour, or serve me up a dish of humble pie by showing there's life in the old dog yet.

Wiggins and Hesjedal have a lot of work to do, but Evans is poised nicely and must be enjoying the lack of the spotlight.

SKY'S COLOMBIAN CHALLENGE

Yesterday when Wiggins was dropped yet again on a wet descent, Sky took the interesting approach of leaving the Colombian pair of Sergio Henao and Rigoberto Uran in the front group while the rest of the Sky team went back to help their leader. Henao and Uran are still in the top ten overall and Sky are figuring that if Wiggins is truly going to lose serious time on descents that perhaps it's a good idea of have a second or third card to play, just-in-case.

Both can climb well and both are at least capable of stage victories. With lots of climbs to come they will be a huge asset to Wiggins but likewise they could be dark horses themselves should the Englishman crack. Sky are one powerful outfit and can attack you from many angles. It wouldn't surprise me to see one or both of them win a stage and perhaps be used to set up a counter attack for Wiggins by attacking Nibali themselves on the lower slopes of some of the bigger climbs.