Because of the way he answered the questions, a journalist asked him if he was serious, if he was not happy: "No, nothing like that, I'm just calm, there are 3 weeks ahead, maybe you are excited, but we riders are calm, there are 8 days left until the rest day, I'm just focused on tomorrow's stage".
The
INEOS Grenadiers rider was asked if it was a confirmation that he is in good shape, to which he replied somewhat reluctantly: "I don't know, maybe, it could be, it was a good time, what we expected, it was 20 minutes at high speed, I don't think it has anything to do with the days ahead".
This stage however proved to be a brilliant start for Hart who is a major contender for the podium, and perhaps victory if Remco Evenepoel is unable to keep up the pace that he sustained today throughout the three weeks. INEOS have seen Geraint Thomas ninth on the day, but both Pavel Sivakov and Thymen Arensman shed around 1:30 minutes to the first pink jersey of the race.
Finally, he was asked at the finish line how he felt about being the only Giro winner among the participants. He played it down: "It doesn't mean anything, there are great riders with great races, there is the world champion, there are many riders with top 10 in the Giro, for me it's an honor, but nothing more."