I'll be honest, I won't hold back, I'll confess without hesitation: I would have bet a dollar that this Giro would have been sublimated in Van Aert's style. No need to explain why: sometimes the name is enough. His value, the type of ideal stages, his openly expressed desire during the eve of the race.

Obviously we all know the problems the Belgian superstar has encountered this spring. While he was suffering and struggling, those of his caliber, especially the other Van, were taking home the Monuments and humiliating him.

That's why I would have bet. I told myself: he's coming to the Giro fully charged, the beginning is drawn for him like a wedding dress, he'll spend the first days in the pink jersey. At the very least, he'll maintain the prestige of a pink race decidedly lacking in nobility. A Van Aert seeking redemption can become a wild fury.

Instead, here I am confessing my foolishness: Van Aert struggles from the first kilometer, runs a short time trial (his bread and butter) that's painfully cryptic, in the third Albanian stage he drops on the first climb and arrives at the finish line a quarter of an hour later, when the barriers' attendants are already getting antsy. Obviously: anyone asking for predictions will avoid me like a black cat. Well-deserved reputation.

But him too. He moves at a camper's pace, clumsy and wooden, it seems he only brought the Van to Italy, leaving the other half behind. Incredible. Either he tells us he's a victim of a nasty virus, or he tells us he's simply waiting to find his condition along the way, or he tells us he's in love and has his head elsewhere. Certainly he can't tell us these routes were too challenging for him.

In any case, we Giro folks have spontaneous bad thoughts. There were already few big names at the start, we've already lost Landa in the first crash, we're just missing seeing one of the few drag themselves through the Giro like this. Said by someone who's disappointed: what are we supposed to do with a Van Aert like this.

Experience teaches: when a foreign big name shows this weakness, it's a bad sign. Usually, however, they wait to reach the foot of the Alps: first, they win what there is to win, then knee inflammation or tonsillitis arrives, and so, prudently, with great regret, truly with much disappointment, they take the first plane from the nearest airport.

This Van Aert story is a different movie. He hasn't even started the Giro. But the air isn't beautiful either. With the rest day coming for the flight to Italy, there are two scenarios: either Van Aert takes advantage to get back in shape and tries to reinvent himself Van Aert-style from Tuesday, or he reveals he's in too much pain and heads straight back to Belgium. Goodbye Italy and Italians.

I, who would have bet on him, would gladly choose the first option. But this time, I wouldn't bet. From a Van Aert like this, I expect anything. What are we supposed to do with a Van Aert like this.