Robert Gesink moved up to the sixth place in the general classification of the Tour de France. Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team), one of Gesink’s competitors, abandoned the race in the first stage through the Alps and he was able to hold off Vincenzo Nibali (Astana).

Steven Kruijswijk gave the 17th stage colour in the breakaway, but he wasn’t able to stop Simon Geschke (Team Giant-Alpecin) winning the race.

It was a big fight for a while in front of the peloton before a breakaway got enough space to escape. Kruijswijk took part in that fight. “When you go gambling or waiting for the perfect moment, it doesn’t turn out the way you want to all the time,” he said after the stage.

“That’s why I went all in from the beginning. It was quite a war for an hour, but I kept feeling good and in the end, I was in the breakaway. I was able to take it easy afterwards. It was important to save some energy, because I knew that it was going to explode on the Col d’Allos. When Geschke attacked, I thought that it was too early. I tried to catch him afterwards, several times, but I didn’t have the legs to win today. That’s a pity, but I can go on with this performance.”

To challenge
A few minutes behind the leading group, a lot happened in the general classification as well. Tejay van Garderen, who was third overall before the 17th stage, was dropped early and abandoned the race afterwards.

“That means something,” Gesink said. “I heard that he was just at a total loss. That’s why I moved up to the sixth place and I’m satisfied with that. I was hoping that Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) would have been a little less strong, but maybe I can challenge him in the upcoming days.

”The front man of Team LottoNL-Jumbo must keep on climbing at a high level to reach that goal. “That went quite well today. I was the sixth man of the peloton to reach the top of the Col d’Allos. That’s moderate. I did the descent afterwards with Wout Poels (Team Sky) and Thomas. On that last climb, they went all the way and I had to leave a small gap, unfortunately.”

Tough start
“Robert finished the stage on his spot,” Sports Director Nico Verhoeven said. “He moved up one place in the general classification, so it was a good day for us.

“It started hectic and tough. In the end, there was a big breakaway with Steven in it. That’s what we wanted.”

The profile of Thursday’s stage looks like a similar scenario is possible. “It’s again a tough start to the stage,” Verhoeven continued. “We have to climb a ten-kilometre-long climb in the beginning. A group of good climbers will probably escape and it’s a question of if they will get enough space. The most important thing for us is that we support Robert as well as possible. We’re going to aim for a spot in the top five of the general classification in the next days.”