Pre-race press conferences on the eve of an event like the Giro d'Italia offer up little in the way of new storylines to explore for the big stars like Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), with revelations such as his post-Classics illness already well told and the focus now fully on the opening stage.
But it does give a chance to read into the protagonists' moods and body language. So if the show Van Aert put on at Thursday's pre-Giro top favourites presser is anything to go by, then the Belgian isn't too fazed by the infection, which has seen his chance of claiming the maglia rosa on stage 1 turn to "more dream than reality", in his own words.
All went to plan and on time in Tirana's Palace of Congresses building, which houses the 2025 headquarters and saw Van Aert field questions alongside Primož Roglič, Juan Ayuso, Tom Pidcock, Richard Carapaz, Giulio Ciccone and Egan Bernal on Thursday afternoon.
Riders said they would "see how it goes day by day", and "that the legs will decide" in various ways, but they all stayed professional and to the point to minimise their time in front of the microphones and cameras, with the Grande Partezna proper less than 24 hours away.
But as this is the Giro, not the constant stress that is the Tour de France, that strictly business nature of the afternoon was soon diffused by Van Aert and former teammate Roglič, as they reminisced about their days together on Jumbo-Visma and spoke of their great mutual admiration for one another.
"I mean, Wout is to me, yeah, let's say a bit more than just a cyclist. So yes, I have a big respect for him," said Roglič, when asked to rate his former team's chances in Italy.
"He will definitely have his chances, but I mean, he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone, what he can do, because he's already shown really big things. So yeah, definitely they [Visma] will have a good Giro."
Two questions later, one journalist attempted to get Van Aert to return the favour, but he was sharp as ever, quickly replying "No comment", which brought big laughs in the press conference, before answering properly and similarly to Roglič, as expected.
"Of course, Primož is one of the main contenders. What can I say when he's won so many Grand Tours before?" said a relaxed Van Aert.
"Especially in the [2023] Giro, he showed his strength, and he kept believing through the last day, always. That's why you never can underestimate him, so I'm looking forward to seeing these GC guys battle."
Van Aert will have a new teammate to support in the GC competition, Simon Yates, though the former Vuelta-winning Brit isn't expected to be right up there with the very best like Roglič in his first Grand Tour on Visma.
The Belgian reiterated how, despite his lead-up to the Giro being far from ideal, the team fielded by the Dutch squad at the start in Albania is one that can compete on all stages from Durrës to the grande arrivo in Rome at the start of June, with Olav Kooij as the sprinter, himself potentially as the attacker and Yates once the road heads uphill.
"We have a super strong team with a lot of guys for all kinds of terrains. I would say also, we have three leaders with almost an opportunity every day, because we have Olav for the sprints and Simon for GC and the mountains," said Van Aert.
"So yeah, I'm really confident in the team, but as has been mentioned, unfortunately, my preparation was not ideal. But luckily, tomorrow the race starts, and we can see day by day. We have big expectations, but let's see."
The Belgian posted a 63km training ride to his Strava on Saturday, captioned 'Cash only', which saw him and the Visma squad finally get to explore the main circuit into Tirana that will conclude the opening stage and make up most of stage 2's time trial route.
"Yes, we tried the local lap in Tirana. It was quite hectic to do a recon here, but it was good to see the [Surrel] climb," Van Aert said, though he still played down his own chances.
"My impression is that the climb is quite hard, it starts steep and also afterwards, the downhill is almost all the way to the finish, so I think the race will be really fast. I also see a chance for attackers to go to the finish."
He didn't necessarily put himself into this group, as a specific attacker, but mentioning that he believes it is a possible option suggests that even in spite of the illness, Van Aert could and very well might still launch a charge in pursuit of the pink jersey.
If he does manage it, which would be miraculous given how little training Van Aert has been able to do, then he perhaps wouldn't be as sour in losing it to his old pal Roglič, if anyone, after the stage 2 time trial or stage 7 mountaintop finish.
They may not be racing in the same colours anymore, but Van Aert and Roglič will no doubt be two of the central figures to follow throughout this year's Giro d'Italia, with one of them likely a contender on each day, should Van Aert's conditions improve after starting as a question mark.
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