The only person Girmay had eyes for was MvdP. He didn't care if he won, he just didn't want MvdP to beat him.
I think your conclusion is a stretch as Girmay used energy to take jersey points on the road; not a strategy just for survival. He is also young, in the fight of his life and his best strategy would be to follow MVP. He may have no clue about DeGendt and, if the pack's response was any clue; few of them did either. Since I only saw highlights at least they were both aggressive on all terrain. Girmay wants to win and he's got a great hero to emulate, so....there's that possibility.
They're both showing incredible style right now.