Steven Kruijswijk finished 12th in the Giro d'Italia’s ninth stage up Blockhaus today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo's headman battled a long time with the favourites, but lost ground as the climb continued and Nairo Quintana rode clear for the win and pink jersey lead. Kruijswijk moved to 10^th overall in the rankings.

"I did not have such a good day today. At the foot of the climb, I was already at my limit,” said Kruijswijk on top of the mountain in Abruzzo. "When Quintana accelerated, I couldn’t hold up the pace and I had to accept the time loss. But that’s the way it is, but the Giro isn’t over yet."

The ninth stage was again very fast. An early break made ground, but the teams of the GC riders had other plans and so the attack group was taken before the final climb to Blockhaus. The favourites then launched attacks.

LottoNL-Jumbo's front man lost more than two minutes, but entered the top 10. Sports Director Addy Engels still sees enough opportunities.

"I did not expect such big time differences today," said Engels. “You can expect these kinds of differences in a heavy and long Dolomite stage. We expected the first real test today and that the best climber would win, but not with such differences. The result doesn’t lie, but the road is still long to Milan. There are two more weeks and we know that Kruijswijk is at its best in the third week."

Tomorrow, the Giro stops for a rest day in Umbria. The day after, the race continues with an individual time trial to Montefalco.