When Jacob Fuglsang arrived for his pre-Giro d'Italia zoom press conference last Friday, alongside Astana teammates Alexandre Vlasov and Miguel Angel Lopez, there was little room for him on the couch or in the video frame.

Less than 48 hours later, physical distance was no longer an issue inside Astana's team bus, as Lopez and Vlasov were abruptly ejected from the Corsa Rosa for the second consecutive day.

Lopez crashed heavily in the opening time trial in Palermo, and Vlasov abandoned midway through the second stage to Agrigento due to stomach problems. Fuglsang calmly brushed off questions about the leaders' pecking order during a conference call on Friday afternoon. By 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, the point was already moot.

On paper, the trio of Fuglsang, Vlasov, and Lopez had propelled Astana to one of the strongest teams in the race on the eve of Monreale's Grande Partenza. However, since the misfortune of these two on the opening weekend, the Astana team has been forced to be more cautious.

Astana coach Giuseppe Martinelli has led Marco Pantani, Gilberto Simoni, and Damiano Cunego to Giro victories. It would be the only Vuelta a España in 2015, when Vincenzo Nibali was expelled for a wrecking move on the opening weekend.

"It's difficult when you're missing two riders from the first day because it complicates everything," Martinelli told reporters in Castrovillari before stage 6 on Thursday.

"It's difficult because everything is complicated without two riders from the first day," Martinelli told reporters in Castrovillari on Thursday, ahead of stage 6.

Nibali's expulsion from the 2015 Vuelta at least had the unintended consequence of resolving the thorny issue of Astana's leadership, with Fabio Aru taking the reins alone and winning the overall in Madrid three weeks later. Martinelli, however, insisted that the departures of Vlasov and Lopez did not change Fuglsang's status, but only reduced the supporting cast around him.

"The start of the Giro was definitely a bit difficult, but we have a leader in Fuglsang," said Martinelli. We have a leader in Fuglsang," said Martinelli.

Martinelli admitted that the long, dreary ride through the rugged terrain of Sira on stage 5 might have tempted the all-out Astana to test the mettle of his rivals. But with only five riders around Fuglsang, the team was cautious. It was a long day of almost nothing," Fuglsang said. He was seventh overall, 1:19 behind leader Joao Almeida (Dečuninck-Quick Step).

"If Lopez and Vlasov had been there yesterday, we could have done something different," Fuglsang said.

"It's going to be a really hard Giro in the final week. It's clear that we have strong rivals. [Gelant] Thomas is out now, but the others are still there."

Fuglsang responded well to the wind in the opening time trial. He was part of an elite group of contenders for the win with Nibali at the Etna summit finish on stage 3, and at the fast finish in Matera on stage 6, he fought for third place behind teammates Fabio Ferrone and Arnaud Demare.

"It was an honor for him to work for my sprint," Ferrigne said. He, along with Manuel Boaro, was an important domestique for Fuglsang early in the race. Rodrigo Contreras and Jonas Gregard were called up as a precaution after contact with Yuriy Natalov and Vadim Plonsky, who were infected with the coronavirus.

Indeed, therein lies the defining characteristic of this rescheduled Giro. Geraint Thomas (Ineos) has already left the race and Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) is nearly 4 minutes behind overall. The race's novel calendar speaks for itself. A brutal third week could see some anarchic racing, regardless of the late-October alpine conditions.

"I have been saying since day one that the Giro in October would be difficult. Yes, the season was shorter than usual, but there have not been many seasons as intense as this one," said Martinelli.

"Each team came here with everything they had. Some of the teams were thinking about the Vuelta. So I think it's going to be a bit of a crazy race.

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