"I didn't know I would be sitting here": Sjoerd Bax rides a time-trial of his lifetime to reach hot seat and 4th place

A lot can happen at a Grand Tour, and that saying applies twice as much for the first stage after a rest day. Some riders come back swinging, while others lose a bit of the flow switching from action-packed stages to a coffee rider, and back. For a 30-year-old Sjoerd Bax, riding a Grand Tour is a new experience, but based on his performance in stage 10 time trial, he definitely seems to be joining the former group.

If you weren't thoroughly analyzing this year's Giro d'Italia startlist, you might've completely missed the Dutchman's name in the mix. And that's why Bax felt an urge to leave a mark in Tuesday's time trial, putting in a time of 47 minutes and 57 seconds - enough to reach his first Grand Tour top-5 result.

"I'm quite happy. I'm also quite happy that it's over, because it's a lot of suffering," the Dutchman began his account to CyclingProNet with a huige smile after the race.

The Pinarello Q36.5 rider stunned many of his more-decorated colleagues in the peloton with a time which put Bax in a hot seat for roughly an hour until two-time world champion Filippo Ganna blasted his time by further two minutes. "I didn't know I would be sitting there for a bit, so that was a nice experience."

But as Ganna eventually turned out to have been in a league of his own today, Bax's time was enough to secure a fourth position, just four seconds off today's podium.

With one hundred riders still to come at the time when Ganna arrived, Bax didn't hope for much: "I don't know where I will ultimately finish. I'm still hoping for a top ten, although that will be tight. When I see that I finish ahead of Walscheid, who is very strong, I think that's a good sign." That was good hunch, as only Thymen Arensman and Rémi Cavagna turned out to have been stronger than Bax after the race day.

It would come across as rude to call Bax's performance to have come "out of the blue", but the former representant of WorldTour outfits such as Alpecin-Deceuninck and UAE Team Emirates definitely had better periods in his career than the last few seasons. However the Dutchman certainly earned his timetrial badges in the past. Among others with a top-10 at home 2023 European Championships in Emmen.

So, what was the key to today's success? "I always try to pace more by feel. After all, you never know with power. It is also my first Grand Tour and after nine days of cycling, it is always different. I started quite hard and then on the way back I had a kind of tailwind. Then you get into a rhythm with your breathing," Bax remembered that his previous employers have never selected the 30-year-old for a three-week event.

Then there was one last push uphill. "At the last intermediate point there was a bit uphill, so that was kind of my finish. After that, it was just about being aero, that's it. In your head, you look from point to point," Bax continued. "At a certain point, there are still 20 kilometers to go and you think: it's still a very long way to go."

"But a bit later, there are only 10 kilometers left. You are counting down the kilometers, so to speak. If you start slower, you can't make up for it anymore, so then it's better to go all in, I would say," the Dutchman concluded his successful battle plan.