The stage was marked by an early breakaway of eight riders. They got a maximum lead of more than five minutes and eventually competed for the stage victory. Behind them, Kruijswijk was well-protected by his teammates. They brought their leader to the final climb in an ideal position. On the climb, Kruijswijk had a hard time with the continuous accelerations. However, he was able to return again and again by continuing to ride his own pace.

“It was a very tough stage”, Kruijswijk explained. “The pace was very high, especially at the end. As a result, the race was really split apart. Luckily I was able to join the best guys, but it wasn’t easy. For today my performance was good enough, but it still needs to improve. I had a good feeling and I didn’t lose too much time. I just lack that few percent to really compete with the best. Today was a good test and I am glad that I passed the test really well. The Giro is still very long and you never know what can happen, as we have seen today for example, with GC guys losing a lot of time or are already out of contention due to bad luck.”

Sports director Addy Engels concurred with his captain. “The time trial was not the start we had hoped for, but the GC looks much better for us after today. Some rivals have already lost time, so that’s a bonus. Steven still lacks some race rhythm after his injury, but we also know that he can improve in a three weeks stage race.”