The longest stage of the Italian race was coloured by five escapees. The lead of the five ran up to ten minutes. After more than a hundred kilometres the peloton seemed to be shaken up by the formation of echelons, but all teams were alert. With three kilometres to go, the breakaway riders were caught by the large group containing all the strong men. Van Aert made an all-out effort to close the gap on the breakaway rider Zdeněk Štybar, but he fell just short of Van der Poel in the sprint.

The Fleming was disappointed that he could not convert the hard work into a victory. “It took a lot of strength to get Stybar back. I was a bit surprised by the attack. It was a bad race situation to sprint for the win with Mathieu in my wheel. I had the feeling there was more to it if I hadn’t had to put in a maximum effort sooner. Looking back on today, a second place and again extra bonification seconds is a good result. I think the people at home are the big winners. They have been treated to a high level race between the absolute world-class riders over the past few days.”

Sports director Addy Engels was impressed with his team’s performance. “It is very special what is happening here. It all seems to become normal, but of course it is not. In three stages three times on the podium, that’s really special.”

An important test awaits Van Aert tomorrow with an eye on the general classification. The Belgian rider is eager. “It will be a tough task to defend the leader’s jersey. The tactics will be very simple. I’m going to try to hang on to it for as long as possible and if I get dropped, I’ll fight for every second. After tomorrow we will know more about the possibilities for a good position in the GC. It would be beyond all expectations if I can keep the jersey, but I am ready to fight for it. Tomorrow night we will assess our possibilities and see what else is possible.”