After Simon Yates' (BikeExchange-Jayco) first ever podium finish at last year's Giro d'Italia, it was difficult to avoid the sense of unfinished business, good or bad, or overdue completion.

The Giro was where Yates came so close to winning the Grand Tour in 2018; after a disjointed performance in 2019 and an early loss the following year, the BikeExchange leader finally got it all back together in the 2021 Giro.

"We're aiming for the podium, and if he wins, it would be sensational," BikeExchange-Jaycor sport director Matt White said shortly after Simon Yates won two stages at the Vuelta Asturias last weekend, He told Cyclingnews.

"I think he's going to be competitive around here. He's raced this template before and he knows the Giro and how much he can get out of it and himself. I am confident he can make the podium."

As for the team's biggest rivals, White cites Richard Kalapas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates). I would have to put [Romain] Balde and Mikel Landa in there as well." [But Calapaz scares me the most. He's won a number of Grand Tours and he's won the Giro. He's the most popular rider in the race."

As for Yates, fresh off two stage wins at the Vuelta Asturias, he had a rough day with an important mountain stage. White, however, says that there is a reason for the variance in results in Spain's three-day stage race, and that he is not overly concerned about it.

"It's very simple for us. Since retiring at Volta a Catalunya, he has been climbing at 2000m and in all that time the temperature has probably never been above 10 degrees Celsius."

"In Andorra the winter has been prolonged and the athletes have been training like that for three weeks. The first day in Asturias was mild, and the second day on the coast was 16 degrees, but once inland the fog lifted and the temperature suddenly jumped to 27 degrees. When it gets hot in northern Spain, it gets humid."

As White says, both brothers Adam and Simon Yates can race in the heat, and Simon's victory at the 2018 Vuelta a España is near conclusive proof of that. And it is far better that it happens in Asturias than it will happen a week later on the slopes of Mount Etna, the first significant climb of the Giro.

"What they [both Yates brothers] don't like is the shock of that first experience in that hot climate," White explains.

"But given the race schedule and his condition over the past month, Asturias was truly a shock: a tough day of climbing at 4,500 meters, but Simon slowed down to the finish and won again the next day."

The Etna climb on stage 4 will be seen by many as a key pointer to Yates' overall form, given that he took the lead there in 2018 after a similar scenario of a foreign Grande Partenza and a long trip to Italy.

White is logically cautious about showing his hand regarding what Yates could do on the same climb four years later, but confidently predicts that Etna will be a "showdown" in the overall battle.

"It's a very long climb and on a slope I've never used before. And it's after a rest day, so some riders might not feel comfortable. But Simon is very good after rest days. It's definitely not a problem for him.

Furthermore, White, who notes that "the Giro is always heavy on the back end," says there are few surprises on the route itself this year.

He cites Potenza (stage 7) and Torino (stage 14) as dangerous stages. These are brutal and some will run away."

Another possible difference from previous years is that "there is no time trial in the middle of the race.

In any case, for Bike Exchange Jayco, the mission of the Giro remains the same, no matter what terrain the organizers throw at it.

"If the chance to win a stage comes up, it comes up. But if you are riding for GC, you have to redirect your energy. If you get greedy and start trying to win a stage or put a rider in the breakaway, you're taking away important energy," White reasons.

Next year, however, the team may look at a stage win in the Giro. White acknowledged that this could be the last Giro for several years, as Yates will return to the Tour de France in 2023. White also revealed that if Yates were to head to France this summer, it would only be for a stage win,

"At the end of last season, he had the idea that he would probably go for this year's Tour de France," White recalled. 'He wants to wear the yellow jersey, he wants to be on the podium of the Tour.'

"But I looked at the route of the two races, sat down at tables with sponsors and officials and asked them what they wanted. The Tour has a 60-km individual time trial, which is very difficult to win. It is clear that Simon is not as good at time trials as the two Slovenians (Primoš Roglic and Tadej Pogačar), so realistically he will be fighting for the podium.

"But we know they won't be there because there are not that many TT distances in the Giro. So that's what we finally decided."