Committed Team dsm-firmenich PostNL effort limits losses on opening Giro stage

The opening day at the Giro d’Italia saw the bunch take on a short but sharp stage, with some challenging climbs in the finale; where the puncheurs and climbers were expected to come to the fore.

Riding well as a unit, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL kept their powder dry as the breakaway formed, focusing on preparing for the tough finale. Coming into the final 50 kilometres the breakaway held onto a good advantage still so the pace was high as they hit the Colle della Maddalena. Good positioning from the sprint group saw the team’s climbers well positioned. As the bunch progressed up the climb, Kevin Vermaerke and Chris Hamilton moved towards the front, looking to position Romain Bardet.

However, a call came in over the radio and Bardet had to let go of the wheels; having a tough moment around two kilometres from the top. Hamilton and Vermaerke immediately dropped back to him and began to set tempo. Coming over the summit they were roughly one minute and 30 seconds behind the reduced peloton but a strong and resilient team effort saw the trio eat into that gap, before they hit the final short but steep ascent. There Vermaerke and Hamilton gave their last bit of energy before Bardet rode it over the top and continued the chase on the other side; eventually crossing the line in a group that was 57 seconds in arrears of stage winner Narvaez.

Speaking after the stage Hamilton expressed: “It’s always nice to get the first day out of the way and settle the nerves a little bit. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a perfect day for us with Romain having a bad moment on the climb. Kevin and I were there to help him in the finale and managed to help bring him back a bit before he then went for it on the last climb. In the end he only lost 57 seconds I think, so we are still in it. If this is our bad day of the race then we will take it. We will go for it again tomorrow.”

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Matt Winston added: “On the climb Romain just gave us a message on the radio saying that he wasn’t feeling too good and that was the first indication we had from him. Chris and Kevin had moved forward in the peloton to bring him into position and then dropped back and were with him. I think we limited our losses pretty well actually. He was quite a way behind at one point but the guys then pulled pretty hard in the chase. Bike riders are human; they have good days and bad days. Today was a bad day. We don’t plan for that on day one but it is what it is. We still have three weeks to go and there is still plenty of time in the bike race. I think this GC will have a massive shake up over the course of three weeks. If we can go now in a forward trajectory and not lose more time then that will be a good thing, but if we do, then we will re-assess and go for day results. As long as we keep looking forward as a team and move that curve upwards as a team, then we will bounce back.”