The positioning battle into the Cipressa. Although no-one would've predicted it, there was a small crash at the bottom and a few riders were stuck behind it as well. Pidcock was one, and with a fall costing at least some 10 seconds at such a key point where UAE Team Emirates - XRG decided to go all-out, it was impossible to get back to the front of the peloton in time for Tadej Pogacar's expected attack.
"289 km of racing with space for a few mistakes. Today, we saw ourselves on the other side of luck at the foot of Cipressa, with a small crash involving Tom Pidcock before attacks kicked off, we were on the back foot," the team wrote on social media.