First rest day of the Giro d'Italia, what's on your mind and what have you been watching? It doesn't have to be Giro-related, Itzulia Women and Tour de Hongrie just wrapped up too. Heck, if you want to talk gravel or MTB, that's cool, I hear Lucinda Brand is tearing it up on gravel, and the MTB World Cup is still going on in Brazil.
Visma's injury luck is pretty lousy this year, with WVA out on injury prior to the Giro, and now his replacement, Christophe Laporte, withdrawing after that bad crash on Stage 5. I know it's weird to think of Visma as an underdog in anything, but I was glad for Olav Kooij yesterday, good for him and it's nice to see the young talent stepping up. Also, Cian Uijtdebroeks in the white jersey and sitting in 5th is pretty solid. I hope he can prove himself as they get deeper into the mountains.
Apparently I jinxed it—Visma just announced that Kooij is withdrawing due to fever!
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/giro-ditalia-stage-winner-olav-kooij-abandons-with-fever-as-vismas-bad-luck-continues/
Seriously