Kruijswijk shows improvement with ninth place in mountain stage
Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s Giro d’Italia leader Steven Kruijswijk finished ninth in the mountain stage to Oropa today. Kruijswijk rode in with Vincenzo Nibali at 44 seconds behind winner Tom Dumoulin. Dumoulin maintains the overall lead in general ranking. Kruijswijk gained one place and moved to 11th at 7-03 minutes.
The Giro d'Italia’s 14th stage was a short quick leg with a steep slope at the end to the Oropa Sanctuary. The favourites readied for a clash and did not let the breakaway gain too much time. Even before the foot of the climb, they were caught and the fans could sit back to enjoy the clash. Kruijswijk held his ground for a long time and rode steadily after being distanced.
"Today, I could go a little deeper and felt better than last week," said Kruijswijk at the top of the mountain. "I still have confidence in myself and thought, I'm just getting up to full speed and I'll see how I can finish. Fortunately, I could keep it up. Something we can work with, but of course, I still have to better."
Sunday’s stage covers nearly 200 kilometres eastward to Bergamo with two difficult climbs in the final, similar to the monument Giro di Lombardia.
