Jos van Emden has finished second in the concluding time trial of Tirreno-Adriatico. In the general classification, George Bennett is the highest ranked Team LottoNL Jumbo rider. He ended the Tirreno in ninth place.

Just like last year, the time trial meant a direct confrontation with Rohan Dennis for Jos van Emden. Yet he did not want to dwell too extensively on that. “Last year, he bumped me off the hotseat which was the biggest disappointment in my career so far. Now I started after him and he beat me fair and square.”

Van Emden indicated that he still felt the tough stage of Monday in his legs. “That wasn’t ideal. Also, on the Tacx it still didn’t feel great and that’s why I had a conservative start. Therefore a difference with Dennis was noticeable, which steadily increased. Halfway it had increased to two seconds, on the finish it was four. It feels very different than last year. He is simply the best at this distance. But I’ll keep attacking him. The fact that the difference is already a lot smaller than at the beginning of the season in Abu Dhabi is good.”

Sports director Jan Boven concluded that he has mixed feelings about the Tirreno, though the good ones prevail. “Primoz, of course, achieved the greatest success with his stage win. George can also look back on a strong race. He rode to a very nice third place and in the end it was a matter of seconds between spots four to nine in the general classification.”