Team Jumbo-Visma misses out on top result in final Coppi e Bartali time trial
Tijmen Graat was the best-placed rider for Team Jumbo-Visma in the individual time trial at the International Cycling Week Coppi e Bartali in Carpi. The Dutchman finished 25th in the race against the clock. Johannes Staune-Mittet was forced to settle for a spot outside the top ten in the final classification due to equipment failure.
A time trial on a nearly flat, slightly more than 18 kilometres long track marked the conclusion of the five-day Italian stage race. Graat finished 23 seconds behind winner Cavagna in 25th place. Sports director Robert Wagner was pleased with his performance. "Tijmen rode a great time trial. He is mainly known as a climber, but he has developed his time trial skills well. It's a shame he missed out on a top-ten place in the final classification by three seconds.”
Staune-Mittet was ninth in the general classification going into the final time trial. The 21-year-old Norwegian of Team Jumbo-Visma was fast until he encountered equipment problems. "Johannes had an excellent start”, Wagner said. "He had an intermediate time similar to Tijmen's, but he had to change his bike due to a mechanical problem. He lost too much time and dropped out of the top ten in the final classification. That's a shame.”
"It was a fantastic week with an admittedly undesired ending for us. But the guys showed remarkable things for the future.”
