Affini was one of the early starters in Lucca, benefitting from dry weather conditions. Upon finishing—in the shadow of the Leaning Tower of Pisa—he quickly realized that recognized time trial specialists like Joshua Tarling and eventual winner Daan Hoole had set faster times.

“I’m quite satisfied with my time trial”, the Italian said afterwards. “It was a fast course, and I think I rode a good race. There were simply a few guys stronger today. Credit where credit’s due.”

By the time the GC contenders took to the course, the weather had deteriorated significantly. Simon Yates started his time trial in pouring rain but still managed to produce a strong effort against the clock, overtaking Giulio Ciccone and Richard Carapaz in GC.

Yates was pleased with his performance. “This was definitely a good day. After switching to this team, it took a bit of time to get used to the new time trial setup, which I’m actually very happy with. That period of adjustment is paying off now. I think I can still improve, but considering the conditions, we can only say it was a good day. It’s great to be up to fourth now. I want to stay focused and hopefully play a role in the mountains during the final week. There’s still a lot to come in this Giro, but so far, everything is going according to plan”, Yates said.