“It was a race where nothing happened until that crash happened” says shocked sports director of Jumbo-Visma

Jumbo-Visma managed to stay out of trouble in the final of the second stage, but it didn't make much difference because the much-discussed crash took place near yellow-black riders.

“The crash happened quite up front. Fortunately we were not involved”, said a shocked sports director Marc Reef afterwards in an interview for Wielerflits. With just under four kilometers to go several riders hit the deck, but the Dutch team had it's block right in the head of the peloton and managed to avoid issues.

“It was a race where nothing happened until that crash happened,” said Reef. “These finals are always hectic, because all teams want to bring their GC riders to safety.”

Because Jumbo-Visma does not have a sprinter in this Giro d'Italia, the focus is on leader Primož Roglič. “This was a stage that we had to get through safely. We succeeded. We must continue to ensure that we protect Primož properly. We talked about that a lot and I think the guys did a great job today.” The Slovenian won 19 seconds on several contenders for the pink jersey today.

The same will be asked of the Dutch team on Monday. “We can all draw confidence from this, especially towards tomorrow,” says the sports director. “Then it goes up and down a lot in the final. At that moment it is again important to be present with many riders in the front.”