When the Giro d'Italia reached the halfway point along the Adriatic coast on Wednesday, it was still unclear whether the scheduled finish in Milan was in sight, but such a fluid year will not end with much certainty. Giro, like all athletes, lives day to day. It is not the first time that sports reflect society.

For Nathan Haas, the Giro has not been all that different from other bike races during this surreal season, although the COVID-19 pandemic scare has cast doubt on whether the race can continue inside and outside the peloton since competition resumed in August It has, and will continue to be so until the end of the campaign, whenever that may be.

"Everything this year has been day by day," Haas told Cycling News in Porto Sant'Alpidio on Wednesday. 'I think you can guess if the Giro will reach Milan. One of my passions is to study health science and I think a lot about that, but for this interview, I am a bike rider and I am here to keep racing.

"I would rather race than be cooped up in my apartment for 10 weeks. But if you can find a way to continue the Giro safely, I'm just as interested."

The end of the Giro d'Italia seemed a little closer on Tuesday morning when Mitchelton Scott and Jumbo Visma withdrew from the race after reporting that their first rest day tests had confirmed a coronavirus infection. The three coronavirus-infected teams of Sunweb, Ineos, and AG2R La Mondiale decided to remain in the Giro.

That afternoon, a riot on the road to Tortortoleto Lido seemed to have relaxed the vigilance normally expected at this point in the Grand Tour, as a significant component of the Maglia Rosa group was on the road. Some pointed out that the riders continued to race as if there was no tomorrow, even though the music could have stopped at any moment, but Haas was less convinced by that theory.

"I think people are trying to find meaning where there is none. "There's a stage win at stake in the Giro, and it's one of the biggest things a rider has done in his career. After suffering for so many days in the rain, I'm recovering and feeling good again."

"I've been riding in the rain for a long time,"

and "I've been riding in the rain for a long time.

Still, Haas admitted that doubts permeated the Gruppo about whether the Giro could be completed in its entirety due to the high mountain weather in the third week and the increasing number of coronavirus cases being reported throughout Italy. But whether the race ends on October 25 or on an earlier, undetermined date, it is hoped that the Giro champion can be properly crowned.

"I think the number one thing on the peloton's mind is that they want to see the Giro closed out by a real winner," said the race organizer. I hope it makes it to Milan, but if it doesn't, there are certainly whispers within the peloton as to what the riders are thinking. It's not up to us to decide things, so we're just running and we'll keep racing as hard as we can."

Haas comes to the Giro d'Italia after a turbulent debut season with Cofidis. After a strong showing in his native Australia, his campaign was cut short when he was sequestered in a hotel in Abu Dhabi for more than a week during the UAE Tour. When he returned to Europe, he was quarantined again as Spain took strict measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He ended up spending 10 weeks indoors.

"It affected me mentally more than I thought it would, and by the time I could actually get out and run, my head was a ball of spaghetti. 'As is typical of athletes, I pushed things too hard, too fast.'

Back in action at the Tour de Pollogne, the 31-year-old witnessed Fabio Jacobsen's horrific crash on the opening stage. 'When I saw him on the floor, I thought he was dead. It took a lot of effort to make it to the finals of the race again," Haas said. For me, the project was to make it to the finals again and try to push through."

Haas worked on that process on the road to the Giro, but by the time he arrived in Corsa Rosa, he was paying the price for a long layoff; he did not race from February to August, and the uncertainty surrounding the resumption of the season made it difficult to switch off.

"Physically and especially mentally, I feel like I haven't had a break this year," Haas said. "As riders, we are our own worst enemy in that regard, but this season it felt like we were chasing our tails. It's great to be on the Cofidis team. It's great to be on the Cofidis team and they are very supportive. But I have to work on myself a little bit to be ready to start next year. Right now it's about putting this one behind me."

Before that, Haas and his Cofidis teammates will be looking to lead fellow newcomer Elia Viviani to his first win with the team, as the Italian has struggled since the season resumed in August and was unlucky to be knocked off his bike on Wednesday in stage 12. On Wednesday, he had the misfortune of falling off his bike on stage 12. The fast men probably have two more chances in this Giro, but they are already thinking about next year.

"Since the lockdown, five teams have won it all and 13 teams have picked up scraps. That's hard to do this year," Haas said. 'We see this Giro as the start of 2021. It's a project. I feel really good energy in this team and I like everyone involved. It's just been a really, really tough year for everyone."