Steven Kruijswijk lost two minutes and two seconds when the Vuelta a España’s third stage finished up the steep ramps of the Mirador de Ézaro. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s leader finished 53^rd behind winner Alexandre Geniez (FDJ). Ruben Fernandez (Movistar) is the new overall leader.

“We’re fed up with this, but we still have 18 stages to go,” Sports Director Jan Boven said. “We didn’t start this Vuelta perfectly because Steven Kruijswijk got sick after the Olympic Games. The team time trial went surprisingly well when you’re looking at it from that point of view, but the heavy stages like today and tomorrow come a little bit too early for him. Steven wants to compete with the best, but after his preparation, it’s all about limiting the damage as little as possible.

“It didn’t turn out the way we wanted, today. He shouldn’t have lost much fitness, anyway, because he has been able to complete preparation up through the Olympic Games. He just lost his top form after being sick. From now on, he has to make sure that he improves during this race.”

Slipped back

Kruijswijk was disappointed. “I started this Vuelta with ambitions, so you want to finish among the best riders on the first summit finish,” Kruijswijk said. “I wasn’t able to do that, today, clearly. I didn’t feel strong. The only reason I can give is my illness in the past weeks, which was the reason that I haven’t been able to train a lot. I slipped back a little bit and I have to make sure that I’m able to improve in this race to make the most of it. I’m confident about tomorrow in some way because I feel fit and healthy again. I’m not in my best shape, but I’m expecting to improve in the upcoming days.”