The beginning of the stage evolved far from smoothly for Roglic and Team Jumbo-Visma. After just thirty kilometres into the stage there was a massive crash involving Roglic, Kuss and Martens. All three could continue their way. The Slovenian continued the stage with abrasions on his right buttock.

After Roglic had been assisted by the Giro doctor and had returned in front of the peloton, Team Jumbo-Visma took control behind the thirteen leaders.

“The breakaway was very strong today. We controlled the stage as a team, but we also did not want to put too much energy in chasing down the breakaway”, Roglic explained. “I don’t see losing the pink jersey as a disadvantage. It provides the team and me with some rest and less stress. The Giro is still long and the decisive stages are all yet to come.”

Roglic also looked back on the perilous start of the stage. “They crashed in front of me and I couldn’t avoid the crash. That is also part of cycling. Luckily for me, I only have some abrasions and it all is not too bad.”

“We tried to keep the breakaway around five minutes”, Addy Engels said. “We succeeded well in that in the run-up to the climb. At a certain point, none of the other teams wanted to chase, so you know that the break’s advantage will increase a bit because they are battling for the stage win and we are just controlling. It was a very strong breakaway with climbers such as Amador and Oomen. You also shouldn’t give them ten minutes either. It is a pity that we have lost the pink jersey, but on the other hand it also gives us more rest and less stress. The crash of Primoz was a downside. All in all, this was a good race situation for us and we are still well-placed overall.”