So how realistic was the GPS on Thomas really? I mean, we knew he'd been in the accident and had dropped time, but for a while it looked like he was climbing fastest of all the groups being timed, as Quintana, Pinot and Nibali were not gaining any time on him, which would make sense only if he was as strong as them but, because of being involved in the crash, was riding his own pace rather than responding to attacks and messing about with slowing down and speeding up as Quintana and Pinot (less so Nibali who seemed to be going more for rhythm); at one point however, the time gap seemingly froze at 2'09 while Jungels was dropping further and further away, yet obviously this is doubtful since he finished over a minute and a half back on Jungels. I don't think it likely he lost all 3 minutes in such a short period on the flattest part of the climb after catching people, so realistically I don't think we have any guide yet as to whether Thomas really is at the right level.
Sky's problems with the Giro continue, it's the one race they've really not been able to pin down to date, whether it be through poor form, poor luck, poor decisions or a combination of the above. It will now be interesting to see what happens with Thomas forced to race from behind. Will he feel motivated by the sense of injustice and come out all guns blazing, or will he timidly wilt like happened to Porte a couple of years ago? Having been bruised and battered in the accident, Thomas will have a ready 'out' if his form is questionable and he's unable to impact the race, of course. Sky's controlling, bruising race strategy has always been about racing from the front, and that would seem the most logical way of going about things given Thomas' characteristics as a GC rider compared to much of his opposition here. However, that's no longer an option. Sucks that the reason for that is something that's out of his control like this, but at the same time, we might get to see Sky have to dig into other teams' bags of tricks to try to find a way to claw time back, which could be better for the spectacle than if the teams were still trying to protect what they have like they spent most of week 1 doing.
As for the other contenders who were found out today, Tejay is the obvious one. I'm afraid I've never really rated him for a race like this. Almost his only wins outside the US are in Catalunya with races which similarly offers lowish-gradient tempo climbing, and the puncheur skills he showed in his early career with HTC have been neglected almost to the point of extinction. Therefore given recent parcours trends the GT most suited to him is the Tour, and the chances of a Tour de France where Tejay van Garderen is the strongest rider taking place in the next couple of years are pretty slim.
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