Is he not talking about stage 1? Carapaz and Yates could contend I suppose.
Unless he is being taken out of context, doesn’t sound like it.
Grand Tour racing returns on Friday with the Giro d’Italia as the likes of Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) and Simon Yates (BikeExchange – Jayco) battle it out for pink.
But Contador believes another name could be in contention for victory: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix). The Dutchman is famed for his explosive one-day prowess but is yet to finish a Grand Tour.
“It's always a game of chance,” said Contador.
“But I think Joao Almeida, Richard Carapaz and I think Mathieu Van der Poel will be in contention for the top three places in the standings, although I don't know the order but I think the three of them have a little bit more chance than the rest.”
He continued: “I expect to see a lot of surprises in this year's edition. From my experience in the race, the most important thing is to be a regular competitor.
“It's not necessary to be the best, but to not fail and to be regular, especially in the mountain stages. If you do that, you're already assured of a good place in the general classification. If you make a mistake in the Giro, you lose minutes, not tenths or seconds in the classification.