It’s been a strong opening week for the team at the Giro d’Italia and one that closes with Wilco Kelderman and Jai Hindley second and ninth respectively on GC. Riding well together as a unit and looking after our GC ambitions, the team has chosen their moments well to gain back some time in the overall standings. After being set up by the team on Mount Etna on stage three, Wilco put in a stinging attack out of the pack, finishing ahead of the competition to gain a few precious seconds. Likewise, a great performance on stage nine saw the whole team together with eight riders in a peloton of 40 with only 15 kilometres to go. The team then delivered Wilco and Jai to the foot of the climb in the perfect position to use their good acceleration on the steep final ramp, finishing together and vaulting up the overall standings. Parallel to protecting our GC ambitions, we’ve also been on the hunt for day results in the opening week. Michael Matthews, the man for sprints, took second on stage six and third on stage seven in some testing sprint finishes. Alongside the two podium finishes, we’ve also taken eight more top ten finishes so far, showing ourselves in the action on almost every stage. We are looking forward to seeing what week two brings! |