As the dust settles on a sensational 20th stage of the Giro d’Italia, Lionel Birnie is joined by Matt White – one of the people in cycling who knows Simon Yates best –  to analyse how the race was won (and lost) on the Colle delle Finestre.

Until the eve of the Giro, Matt was head of performance at the Jayco-Alula team, having been with the Green Edge organisation since it was founded. Until this season, Yates had spent his whole professional career with the team and he and Matt shared many highs and one memorable low.

Matt was in the team car when Simon Yates lost the 2018 Giro on the Finestre following Chris Froome’s audacious long-range attack on stage 19, so he has a fascinating insight into the tactical and psychological issues that played out on the mountain on Saturday. Yates bounced back later that season to win the Vuelta a España.

But what else stood out to Matt as he watched the stage on Saturday? How did Visma-Lease A Bike pull it off, and could Isaac Del Toro, Richard Carapaz and their respective teams have done anything differently?

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