'One puncture or bad moment, and months of work can disappear' – Juan Ayuso apprehensive for Strade Bianche stage at Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia will enter one of its "most tense stages" on Sunday, according to Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), as the gravel of Strade Bianche characterises the ninth day of racing and puts all the GC riders at risk.

Ayuso took a psychological boost by sprinting to a one-second time gain over co-overall favourite Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) on stage 8 on Saturday, but it could be minutes that one of the pair loses should they endure rotten luck on the white roads near Siena, Tuscany.

Friday's stage winner Ayuso was well aware of the risk the sterrati present, as he spoke about stage 9 in his press conference in Tagliacozzo, hopeful that he could escape the day and first week of the Giro, without another crash or puncture.

"Sunday is going to be one of the most tense stages we have in this Giro, because you don't only need good legs, good positioning, and a strong team around you, but you also need good luck, because you can have punctures, and that can ruin your whole Giro," said Ayuso, who will start in Gubbio fourth overall.

"It's a very difficult day, where one puncture or one bad moment, and months of work can disappear, so I hope we are lucky that day and apart from legs, we have luck on our side and we can pass it with no issues."

One of Ayuso's key helpers on stage 9 should be Jay Vine, who, after a rocky start with a crash on stage 1, has found strong legs at this Giro d'Italia. The Australian is expecting a day of "control" from the GC teams, well aware that chaos could unfold at any moment on the 29km of unpaved roads, where survival into the second week will be paramount.

"It's always a bit weird these sorts of races, because you have them as one-day races and you get a completely different result, so I think tomorrow will be pretty controlled," said Vine to Cyclingnews before stage 8.

"I was talking to Simon Clarke yesterday," who has raced Strade Bianche 10 times, "and he said that until he won the cobbled stage at the Tour de France, the pavé stages were never won by the breakaway, so it's sort of the way with modern cycling – it's always controlled, especially in stage races when everyone is always looking to the next stages.

"Honestly, I've not done one so I couldn't tell you," – whether they should be in Grand Tours, but Vine was more certain that he thinks it will be a day of "Control, control, control and try to minimise your losses."

Vine also wasn't expecting the riders atop the Giro d'Italia GC standings to be fighting it out for the victory in the Piazza del Campo, instead listing a former winner and the current top stage winner at this year's Giro as the riders to watch on Sunday.

"I think you've got other favourites in the race for tomorrow, Pidcock and Mads [Pedersen], who is flying at the moment," said Vine in Giulianova. "I think those two guys are higher up the list of favourites for the Siena stage."

Whatever unfolds on the 181km stage primed for potential chaos, UAE find themselves on the up after the stage win, and with the hardest mountain stages to come, Vine is full of confidence in the young Spanish rider being a worthy rival for Roglič.

"Juan [Ayuso] knows what he wants, he knows how he likes to race, and he's just as much of a leader as any of the other guys I've ever worked for; he's good," Vine told Cyclingnews.

"Morale is good, the tougher stages are still yet to come, so we're looking forward to seeing where we sit after the TT, and the final week is four really hard mountain stages. We're looking good for the overall now."

While his form is also personally on the up, after a hard crash on stage 1 and thinking about leaving the race, Vine was evidently very focused on the team objective at hand, opting to turn an answer about himself into one about the team's great position.

"The form has been really good going into the race, I haven't lost any. Unfortunately, I've had a couple of crashes, but I think most of the peloton has gone down as well so far," said Vine.

"We're still only a third of the way through the Giro so far, but we're in a really good position for the GC already."

Whether or not that strong GC position still exists after the gravel of Tuscany is taken on is yet to be seen, but with the likes of Vine, Isaac del Toro and Adam Yates among those supporting him, Ayuso looks in good stead to survive the gravel and push onto the vital second and third weeks.

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