'Can't get a crystal ball on it' – Wiggins makes his picks for 'unpredictable' Giro

Sir Bradley Wiggins believes the ‘unpredictability’ of the Giro d’Italia makes it virtually impossible to pick a winner in the early stages of the race.

A chaotic finish to Stage 1 saw Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) sprint to victory in Visegrad. But with a Time Trial on Stage 2 and a flat stage on Stage 3, the complexion of the General Classification is expected to change dramatically by the end of the opening weekend of action.

Speaking to Matt Stephens on The Bradley Wiggins Show podcast, Wiggins discussed number of possible contenders to finish on the podium at the end of the three weeks.

“That final [of Stage 1] set things up really nicely for the rest of the race,” said Stephens. “And it’s difficult to get a crystal ball on this edition of the Giro. There’s no out and out pure favourite.”

“I’d like to think that [Richard] Carapaz can pick up and follow on,” responded Wiggins. “He won a few years ago, didn’t he? But follow on from his third place in a Tour de France last year.

“I can’t see Tom [Dumoulin], I just can’t see, with the days of racing he’s had, being up there in three weeks.

“I think [Wilco] Kelderman. I think he’s been up there the year the last couple of years. He has been fourth? I think he’s been third on the podium. I think was fifth today.

“I’m impressed by BORA this year. Since [Peter] Sagan’s departure, they’ve become much more rounded team.

“I think before those guys sort of sacrifice their chances a little bit when whenever Sagan was at a race, so I expect a lot more from them.

“‘Superman’ [Miguel Angel] Lopez. He’s unpredictable isn’t he? But I think he’ll be there. I think he’s growing every year with a little bit more confidence.

“[Joao] Almeida is another one. And outside of that. It’s very, very open. It’s very, very difficult to call.”

Wiggins feels the open nature of the race is what makes it so interesting to watch, and believes the almost random nature is what sets it apart from one of the other Grand Tours in the Tour de France.

“The Giro is so unpredictable, you lose one minute, one day, two minutes, the next. I mean, look at Simon’s [Yates] explosion a few years ago, he was taking minutes out of Chris Froome on some stages, and lost the packet on the last day, didn’t he? So it’s so unpredictable.

“That’s why the Giro is such a great race to watch it’s never over. The Tour de France, we get to the week three, and there’s a gap. And it’s kind of that’s pretty much it. But here, anything can happen.”

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