22nd overall doesn't mean much for Attila Valter: "I would immediately like to trade some places in order to still have Cian in the race"

Team Visma | Lease a Bike got through the penultimate Giro stage without any problems. Attila Valter managed to hold on in the group of favourites for some time. He eventually finished eighteenth which slightly improves his final GC position to 22nd.

"On the first ascent, I felt surprisingly good," Valter said in press release. "I survived in the group with the GC riders. During the second climb of Monte Grappa it went too fast for me. Then I rode towards the finish line without taking too many risks. I am happy with the level I reached in the third week of a grand tour. Although there is definitely room for improvement towards the future."

For Valter, it'll end up being a relatively solid Giro d'Italia results-wise with 22nd spot overall in Rome. "Of course we will look back at this Giro with mixed feelings," he says. "I would immediately like to trade some places in order to still have Cian in the race, but unfortunately it doesn't work like that. I find it especially unfortunate that Cian was never able to show himself in the stages that suited him. His stages were in the second and third week."

The team was considerably reduced by illnesses and injuries in the first two weeks of the race. "We can proudly look back at how the four of us still gave it our all in the last two weeks," Valter added. "Even yesterday we showed again how combative we were and tomorrow we will try to sprint again with Tim. At times it looked like we were still racing with eight. I'm proud of that."