“This is a good result. I felt really good today”, Harper said. “It was a very tough and lumpy time trial. It was going up and down a lot and we even had a bit of offroad in it as well. The plan was to ride uphill as fast as possible and then recover a little in the descents. I was able to keep my pace. It also confirmed that my shape is good and that, despite my mechanical problems of yesterday, I can look back on a very good week. Things don’t always go the way you want. But the legs felt great all week. On the climbs it went well and my time trial was okay too. This gives me a lot of confidence for the future.”

Sports director Arthur van Dongen concurred with his young, talented rider. “Chris has done a very good time trial. Excellent even. It was a short but tough time trial with a lot of climbing. It was also very technical. Looking back at this week, we cannot be dissatisfied. It was a tough Ruta del Sol. We were part of every breakaway that we wanted to be in. Antwan and Chris showed themselves well, especially on the climbs, and I have seen a very strong team.”