Giro d'Italia GC contender Simon Yates (Bike Exchange-Jayco) admitted that he is currently racing with a knee injury after a crash early in stage 4.

Yates, a Briton, had not spoken to the media about the effects of the crash until today's stage start in Naples, but said Saturday morning that his knee is "not 100% but getting better every day."

Yates also blamed an unknown rider who ran into him from behind and knocked him down when Yates was stranded in a previous crash, saying he "doesn't know how to use his brakes."

But Yates, who was in the best position of the GC contenders, said he "didn't need to be aggressive" in Sunday's crucial Brockhaus summit finish.

"There was a crash up front and I really could have stopped, but someone ran into me from behind.

"I don't know who it was, but I hit my knee on the curb, I'm not 100% but I'm getting better every day and I'm not hampered."

Yates said that "not much has happened since the time trial [in Hungary]," regarding the possibility of a GC contender in Etna and Potenza, and admitted that perhaps this uneasy resting state is working in his favor, given his injury. But this calm is due to end soon, he added.

"I expect a showdown at the blockhouse, the first big blowout of the race," he insisted. 'But I'm also in a good position. At this point, I would say I am in front. It's the other GC riders who need to attack."

Yates, who was unable to scout the climb before the race due to logistical issues, said he had been talking with his brother Adam, who ran Brockhaus in 2017, about what a summit finish in the Apennines would be like. Of course, Adam Yates is no longer his teammate as he moved from the Australian team to the Ineos Grenadiers in 2021, but Simon seemed more than happy with his current team, regardless of the Giro.

"The team is in really good shape, one of the best I've ever had," Simon Yates enthused.

Simon Yates added, "The bigger guys are staying at the back of the field to conserve their strength."

The tough stages to Etna and Friday's Potenza did not affect Yates' climbing ability.

Yates certainly came through the eighth stage, which featured multiple uphill laps of Naples, in good condition, and rode strongly throughout in the pack. His crash in the Giro was not as bad as the one he suffered in last year's Tour de France, when he and teammate Lucas Hamilton crashed on stage 13 and were forced to retire.

But the next big test is just around the corner.