Jumbo-Visma turn complicated Giro around as Bouwman strikes "truly indescribable" win

Jumbo-Visma have lost a lot of possibilities on Mount Etna as all of their overall contenders lost time on the slopes of the first true mountain stage, however that's opened opportunities for the team to chase stages and quickly they've turned around their race with a strong stage win.

Koen Bouwman, who's taken his second pro win after one at the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2017, has said after the finish: “Really unbelievable. This was the first real chance for me after our classification men fell through on Etna. I had very good legs today and was able to sprint for the mountain points every time."

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The complicated start gave way for a strong group to go up the road, where Bouwman and Tom Dumoulin found themselves in front. Initially, the Dutchman rode for the mountain points - successfully, as he now leads the classification - however as the day went on, the stage win became priority for Jumbo-Visma. With both Bauke Mollema and Davide Formolo attacking on the climbs, the situation was complicated, as Bouwman himself was dropped in the final classified climb of the day.

"Although I had one bad moment on the climb, I was able to return to the group at my own pace. After the descent I felt good again," he added. Sure enough, he responded to the attacks following, and the confidence in his sprint was high enough that Tom Dumoulin sacrificed his chances to launch Bouwman.

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"Tom dropped me off in a great way and I'm super grateful to him for that. I knew I was one of the most explosive men and therefore had a lot of faith in a good outcome. Nearing the finish line, I looked back and saw that enough was enough. Truly indescribable," he concluded.

Dumoulin found himself in a difficult situation after loosing the chance to fight for the overall classification, however today he was happy at the finale after playing a crucial role in the team's plan. "There is no rider in the peloton who deserves it more than Koen. I had no intention of going into the breakaway at all. I wanted to give myself a few extra days to find the right legs."

However, he found himself in the right place at the right time: "Got into the break by accident, because I wanted to protect Koen's breakaway. Suddenly we had a gap and I was in the breakaway. It's great that it turned out that way," he concluded.

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