The stage started with an intense fight to get in the breakaway of the day. Dozens of attempts by different riders led to nothing. Among others, Jan Tratnik, Tim van Dijke and Attila Valter tried to break away. After several fast hours of racing, a group went clear and Spaniard Pelayo Sánchez proved to be the strongest at the finish.

A few seconds behind, Uijtdebroeks showed himself in the group of favorites. The white jersey wearer was attentive on the wheel of Romain Bardet when he attacked. Uijtdebroeks goes into the time trial as number four overall.

For the young Belgian, it was the first time he rode a race on gravel. “I liked it. I enjoyed myself today. I wasn't really racing with the GC in my head, but just set my mind to zero. Who knows, maybe I'll ride Strade Bianche in the future. I really enjoyed myself. Hopefully tomorrow will be the same in the time trial. So far everything is going well for me in this Giro. I can't complain about that. Tomorrow I'm going to ride as fast as I can and I'll see what that will be worth,” Uijtdebroeks said.

Uijtdebroeks praised the work of his teammates. Valter, among others, was able to assist him deep into the final. “I put a lot of energy into the beginning of this stage,” confessed the Hungarian. “It was an intense start. The second part of the stage was also very tough. I was dropped a few times, but always returned on fighting spirit. That's how I was able to keep up with Cian. I felt that I wasn't the only one suffering in the final part of the stage. In terms of Cian's GC, we did a good job. He got through his first gravel race of his life in a good way.”