'Crashing at 75kph, you're never going to walk away unscathed' – Jake Stewart and NSN's Giro d'Italia sprint dreams not derailed by injury setbacks

When more than half a team fall in a high-speed crash in a single stage of any race, it's never straightforward to regain momentum, but that's exactly what NSN are focussed on doing at the Giro d'Italia.

Stewart has won sprints of his own during his career, most notably at the Critérium du Dauphiné last year. But as Jake Stewart told Cyclingnews, at the Giro d'Italia the squad's main focus on the flatter stages is on getting fastmen Corbin Strong and Ethan Vernon into a position where they can go for the victory.

Things have not yet gone overly smoothly for the team's double sprinter approach, though, with the big crash on stage 2 badly affecting the squad and making it tricky to recover in time for the second bunch sprint of the race in Sofia

However, a third place on stage 1 for Vernon, despite the late pile-up in Burgas, had already augured well. As Stewart – one of the most affected riders at NSN by the stage 2 crash – said, there are plenty of opportunities to come in what remains of the Giro for the sprinters, starting with Naples on Thursday.

"We only really came out with two sprinters, Ethan for the pure, flat sprints and Corbin for the hillier sprints, so it's not too complicated to work out who we're working for each day, it's pretty obvious from the parcours and who's best suited," Stewart told Cyclingnews.

"For the last few years, I've been working on that leadout role. It's a role I'm really excited about and keen to learn more about, so I'm just prioritising the leadout for the guys."

NSN's Giro team, which also features Nick Schultz, two years ago winner of an uphill sprint at the Volta a Catalunya, took something of a mass hammering on stage 2.

They may not have lost three riders as UAE Team Emirates-XRG did, but, as Stewart puts it, "It was pretty shit for us."

"We had five guys on the floor, and me and Dion [Smith] kind of came out of the worst from that, so we're still nursing the injuries from that, taking it day by day. But everyone's improving, so we can't complain too much.

"I've just got a bit of road rash, bruised and banged. Obviously, crashing at 75 kilometres an hour, you're never going to come away from it unscathed."

Stage 3 in Sofia went a lot better, he recounted, even if NSN was still collectively trying to recover from the impact of the crash the day before. Then, once the transfer to Italy had taken place, stage 4 was the first day when the team really began to pick up the pace again.

"Tuesday was the first day that we've really pushed on the pedals as well, given the parcours," Stewart said.

"So hopefully, today [stage 5] we'll be better again and get ourselves to the second rest day, and then hopefully there's an improvement."

Although he has ridden the Giro d'Italia before, in 2023 with Groupama-FDJ, the Briton said he's progressed a lot over the past three years. So, it's his general Grand Tour experience, not the Giro, that's helping him the most in three-week stage racing now.

"I'm streets ahead of where I was three years ago, I think, I've had three years of development in the WorldTour, two Grand Tours last year, so I've come in a lot better," Stewart, who has raced the past two Tours de France, said.

"And I missed the Classics this year as well, so that's kind of given me a fresher run into the race.

"It's the same as any other Grand Tour. Just having the depth of Grand Tours in your legs gives you a big boost in these races. It's just about nursing your way through and, you know, there will be better days."

The Tour is also on his schedule this year. However, Stewart is deliberately compartmentalising the different Grand Tours because, as he says, it could prejudice his performance in Italy in some very practical ways.

"We've got to prioritise the races that we're at at the moment, and I think if you go into a race thinking about the Tour as well, then you know in these leadouts and stuff, you probably pull the brakes a bit earlier and stuff like that," he said.

"So it's only about focusing on the priority that we've got here at the moment, and then we'll prepare for the Tour afterwards.

"We've got Ethan, who's been performing really well, and then Corbyn is really suited to some of these harder sprints. [Alessandro] Pinarello also, as he proved yesterday, he's got good legs, so we're just prioritising stage wins here.

Stewart agrees that there are around six or seven opportunities for the sprinters in this year's Giro, with the caveat that "obviously you never really know what's going to happen in the last week," given tired legs all round make for more unpredictable scenarios.

"We'll see how it pans out then," he said. "Obviously, Rome is pretty much nailed on, but stage 18 could be something interesting too. Either way, we've got plenty of opportunities, and for us, stage wins are the priority here."

The next big opportunity could come on today's stage 6 in Naples, with its tricky cobbled finale, an alteration from the usual more straightforward run-in, only adding to the challenges.

On top of that, the roads leading into the southern city are notoriously slippery when it rains. However, Stewart believes that a switched scenario could suit NSN's strengths.

"It's a more complex final, but I think it can suit us as a team," he said.

"We've got the firepower, and we're always in a good position for these more technical sprints compared to stage 3 [a more straightforward sprint – Ed.], where we kind of find ourselves a bit further back.

"So it definitely plays into our favour, and I think it definitely plays into the favour of Ethan, being a bit of a harder sprint as well."

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