Yates trails race leader Egan Bernal (Team Ineos Grenadiers) by 56 seconds ahead of the eleventh stage, having lost time during the early mountain stages.
The Briton’s impressive victory at the Tour of the Alps helped him become one of the favourites to win the Italian event, but he has sat back in the peloton so far, failing to fire on steep finishes in Sestola, San Giacomo and Campo Felice.
Despite the near minute-long gap separating the 28-year-old from his rivals, Yates remains confident he can turn things around, citing the weather as a significant factor in his time loss.
"I think the main challenge has been the ever-changing conditions of the race,” Yates said.
“A lot of the hardest stages have come with big weather changes and that's affected a lot of guys in different ways.
"We had the gravel climb a few days ago which also means a lot of things changed in the final of the race. But I think the gaps are still quite small. I'm still within a minute of the lead, which I think is good after 10 stages.
"The guys who are there are the guys who I expected. We've lost a few through crashes or guys who have suffered in the changing weather conditions, but they are the riders who I expected to be there.
"I think it'll take a lot of aggressive racing (to win the Giro). The gaps are still quite small, the top 10 is within a minute so far but that can change very quickly on any stage now.
"I hope to come out of the rest day feeling good so that I can try to regain some time. I know I'll need a little bit of a buffer going into the time trial if I'm to win this Giro."
Watch Stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia LIVE, FREE and in HD on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand from 8:45pm (AEST) tonight.
