Zabel outclimbs Yates as 'crazy plan' puts him into blue jersey at Giro d'Italia

BALATONFURED HUNGARY MAY 08 Rick Zabel of Germany and Team Israel Premier Tech blue mountain jersey prior to the 105th Giro dItalia 2022 Stage 3 a 201km stage from Kaposvr to Balatonfred Giro WorldTour on May 08 2022 in Balatonfured Hungary Photo by Stuart FranklinGetty Images
Rick Zabel in the blue jersey at the Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Getty Images)

In predicting who might be quickest up the climb at the end of the stage 2 time trial at the Giro d’Italia, precious few would have pointed to Rick Zabel. 

The German is hardly known for his climbing skills, and indeed will be focusing on his speciality as a lead-out man for Israel-Premier Tech sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo on Sunday’s flat stage 3. 

Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.