Yates battles mishaps to hand out final stage bubbly

Fans may see the final day of a Grand Tour such as the Giro d'Italia as little more than a pro-quality club run as riders roll toward the finish line with the racing over aside from the sprinters' final dash for glory. But for the directeur sportif of the leaders' team, it's a bit more stressed than that.

For starters, there's the constant worry that a last-minute disaster could wipe out three weeks' work. "We knew it wasn't over until we finished up today and hit the line with one lap to go, as that was where the official time was taken," said Discovery Channel directeur sportif Sean Yates in a team statement. "And with one to go, we had Michael Barry at the head with Paolo on his wheel, as we knew one crash or something like that could potentially lose it all. After that, everyone sat up and that was it."

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