| The opening ten days of racing at the Giro d'Italia has seen some intense and tightly fought action in the peloton, where we have been active and to the fore on most stages - showing our colours prominently in our first Grand Tour as Team DSM.
Riding well together as a unit and looking after our GC ambitions, we've also chosen our moments wisely to go on the attack or set up sprint finishes in search of stage results.
In only his second Grand Tour, Max Kanter has been getting in the mix for us in the often hectic and fast finales that we have at the Giro, with a very respectable eighth place on stage seven. Likewise, Romain Bardet finished seventh on the tricky gravel climb to Campo Felice on stage nine, showing some good climbing legs.
It was on stage eight however where our team cohesiveness really showed. After Michael Storer and Nicholas Roche expertly rotated in following the attacks over the hills, Nikias Arndt seized the moment on the flat valley roads and made the break of the day. Using all of his race craft and experience, plus coaching from the car behind, Nikias measured his effort perfectly on the uphill finale to take a brilliant third place for us.
With a good atmosphere in the team, we're looking forward to seeing what week two brings us! | 