"I started too fast and my second part was very bad" - Remco Evenepoel wins time-trial but left disappointed after small time gains

Remco Evenepoel won the long time-trial of the Giro d'Italia with a second advantage over Geraint Thomas, 2 over Tao Geoghegan Hart and 17 over Primoz Roglic. He started very strong, perhaps too strong, and almost paid for it in the final part.

"I think I didn't do too well, I started too fast and my second part was very bad, after the technical part in Cesena I found better legs again because I was able to recover a little bit," he said in a flash interview. "I think my first part was very good, with the pace I wanted to have, but the second part with the headwind I didn't feel very good, it's not the best result."

However, he emphasizes that although in the second part of the race things did not go so well for him, he was still able to win the stage: "I still won the stage which is always nice, but it wasn't my best time trial. I think I should be happy to win the stage and get the maglia rosa back, but it was very tight today."

Evenepoel did still take the stage victory and will climb onto the podium an extra time because he has taken over the race lead from Andreas Leknessund. He won only 1 and 2 seconds respectively on Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart and 17 on Primoz Roglic. His most significant gain was the 35 seconds on João Almeida, but even still it was only a marginal victory in compared to what was expected after his performance on the opening day.

Even though Evenepoel has extended his lead over his rivals, after struggling on stage 8 the signs aren't the best, and it certainly won't be a relaxed Evenepoel heading into the Alps.

"Going into the mountains with that advantage is very good, of course INEOS will have plans to attack me, but we have a strong team, with confidence. Tomorrow I need to recover well because the last 2 days have not been my best days," he concluded.