In a season as depleted as this one, the Giro d'Italia plan, carefully formulated in the winter training camp, is unlikely to survive intact until May. The Visma Ries a Bike lineup has been reshuffled several times in recent weeks, with Wout Van Aert, Wilco Kelderman, and Kane Bouwman all dropping out due to bad luck.

Even with a team as well-rounded as theirs, it is difficult to find similar replacements. When Bouwman left this week due to illness, former Giro Mountain Prize winner Tim van Dijk filled in for him.

On paper, this means that the team's GC leader, Sian Uitdebroeks, will take on the debut Giro with a reduced support role in the mountains. In practice, however, the Belgian insisted that the three-week task would make little difference.

"I want to give my maximum and be as high up in the GC as possible," Uitdebloks told reporters in Turin on Thursday. We have Attila [Walter] and Robert [Gesink], and we have guys who can do well in the mountains if we need them. We have no problems in that aspect. On the final climb, the race will go its own way."

Witdebroeks is in his first season with Wisma-Lies-a-Bike after a difficult winter in Bora-Hansgrohe and an untimely retirement. He raced two races under Jonas Vingegaard, finishing fifth in O Gran Camino and seventh in Tirreno Adriatico.

His last Volta a Catalunya was not so good, as he was forced to retire on the last day due to illness, but he was satisfied with his performance in the Giro since then.

He made his Grand Tour debut at last year's Vuelta a España, finishing eighth overall in Bora-Hansgrohe.

"I'm feeling really good at the moment," he said. After Catalunya I had a good rest and started preparing again. After Catalunya I rested well and started preparing again. It's hard to compare the level with last year's Vuelta, as it was last year.

"You take three weeks and see how fresh you are in the third week. Right now I'm working with the team to learn how my body reacts and fine-tune it for the future."

Uitdebloks hopes to see progress against the clock in this Giro, which features a 70km time trial split between Perugia on stage 7 and Desenzano del Garda on stage 14. Concerns about the time trial equipment at Beulah-Hansgrohe were a sign of a deteriorating relationship with the team. However, so far this season, time trials in Visma color have been rather subdued.

"It can't be solved in three or four months. But we have worked a lot over the last few months to find a good fit in terms of flexibility and position itself. Hopefully we can take a step forward from last year.

"It would be nice to do a time trial in the Giro. But it should be a step forward from last year."

"I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do the time trial, but it's a step forward from last year.

Witdebroeks, who showed Grand Tour potential in last year's Vuelta, will be looking to make further progress here. Tadej Pogachar is the favorite to win the overall, but the battle for the podium is open. Witdebroeks is one of the favorites to win, although he is careful to curb his ambitions before the race begins.

"For sure, I will try to achieve the best possible result. "The white jersey is a dream, but I'll take the easy start and keep the top 10 as my ambition."

The Giro's breezy opening weekend, which includes a punchy stage inland from Turin and a summit finish on the summit of Oropa, from here to Rome It will be an early indication of what Uitdebloks can accomplish.

"It's a pretty explosive start. For me, it's important not to lose time, and day two is already a very hard day."

"I think the UAE will go hard and go for the pink. If so, it will be a really hard final.

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