Stage winner Zakarin, Polanc, and directors Matt White and Max Sciandri on future tactics
Image 1 of 4
Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alepcin) wins stage 13 at the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alepcin) on his way to winning stage 13 at the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images)
Domenico Pozzovivo of Italy and Team Bahrain - Merida / Vincenzo Nibali of Italy and Team Bahrain - Merida / during the 102nd Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images)
Team Jumbo rider Slovenia's Primoz Roglic (R) and Team Bahrain rider Italy's Vincenzo Nibali (2nd R) ride during stage thirteen of the 102nd Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images)
"Yes it's good. [We knew] the last climb would be really hard. I didn't have a plan for the climb, I did my best and this is the result. The ambition is to be in the top five and now it is possible.
"I think the stage win was a bit of a surprise because I didn't have this in my plan.
[Can Roglic win with a weaker team?] "I don't know, [Primoz] Roglic is strong and a really good guy. We will see. If he is without the team, I don't think that it makes a big difference because he is really strong."
[Will you attack early tomorrow?] "We will see. Now I will rest a bit and tomorrow we will see."
"Today I knew it was going to be hard to defend the jersey, so I was thinking I would have to go my pace in the last 2km and sure, stay as long as I can with the first (rider) and then try to do my pace. It was a really hard stage. We saw in the final we were all alone. Thanks to my team for supporting me today. I'm really happy to keep the jersey. It's going to be hard (to keep it). I'm realistic. We saw [Vincenzo] Nibali and Roglic today, I think they're the strongest. Zakarin did a really good job, but the Giro is still long. Let's see."
"Chapeau to Zakarin because even to be out there in a breakaway with 20-some-odd riders is still something difficult. We didn't think the win was going to come from the breakaway. Good move for Zakarin and fantastic for our guys.
"As we lost seconds in the TT, with a few crashes, luckily nothing happened too seriously, we have to keep attacking. We have guys who are strong with [Andrey] Amador who is coming good. We have to be on the move. Other people are going to have to be conservative - we are coming.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"These stages are beautiful. It's an incredible place to have an incredible event like this."
"I haven't gotten to see [Simon Yates] yet, he's getting changed in the tent but he went from a really good place to struggling quite a lot on the final climb. It's not the result we wanted today. Lucas [Hamilton] had an incredible ride supporting him but when he had a bad moment he couldn't hold the wheel of a couple of different riders. He was with [Miguel] Lopez at one stage and then [Hugh] Carthy but he struggled with the last couple of kilometres to the line.
"It's not the situation we planned on being in, but it is what it is, and we need to alter our tactics accordingly.
[Simon Yates and hip injury] "We are not here to make excuses, that's for sure. He wasn't good enough to follow guys in the last couple of kilometres. I'll have a talk to him when we get back to the hotel to get his perception of what happened. Certainly he went from being very good to not so good in a short period of time."
[A mixed day for the team, first, how is Tao Geoghegan Hart?] "I think that he should be OK. We have just arrived and the race was quite crazy. We spoke with the doctor by SMS and he said that Tao was OK, meaning that he was conscious and everything was fine, he thought that maybe it was something to do with his shoulder so he wanted to do a scan in the hospital. It's a shame to lose Tao, it will affect the group for sure but it is how it is. I'm sure he’ll be back on the bike soon.
"It was a fantastic day for the group. We had Eddie [Dunbar] in the break, so that was our initial tactic. It was perfect because we just had to follow and then at the end, at the bottom of the last climb, we had four riders and the oldest one was 25 years old, with Sebastian Henao. For the future, it's pretty encouraging snd obviously Pavel [Sivakov] was up near the front with Nibali and Roglic, so he was doing his own pace.
"Chapeau to Ivan for helping him, he helped Pavel to come back and it was a fantastic ride for Pavel. I think all the riders will be proud of him and I think that will help gel them for tomorrow. It’s still the first big day in the mountains, but let’s hope that it stays like this day by day."
