Marius Mayrhofer given opportunity to sprint at Giro d'Italia: "Fifth is a good result and we’re looking forward to the coming chances”

Team DSM was present up front all day long, controlling the breakaway for their leader of the day - Marius Mayrhofer. The German was unlucky to be slowed down by a fall in the final, but thanks to huge effort from his teammates, especially Alberto Dainese, he managed to get into a position just as sprint approached, where he timed his sprint very well, taking a surprising 5th place ahead bigger names such as Ackermann or Gaviria.

Mayrhofer expressed his excitement in team's press release: “The team did a super job and committed to me as the finisher the whole day. We were present in the front and controlled the break. We were also strong in the lead out but unfortunately we ended up behind that crash with some guys. I was also caught behind and we had to work really hard to get back to the front. When we made it there the legs were pretty much already hurting. Fifth is a good result, especially considering the circumstances, and we’re looking forward to the coming chances.”

With Alberto Dainese helping in the leadout today, the Dutch team - who saw riders going down in the mass crash - bet on the winner of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. That turned out to be a solid bet with the German coming close to the podium.

Team DSM coach Matt Winston added: “I think the guys did a really good job throughout the day. Jonas pulled in the front to make sure it came down to a sprint. Coming into the final the guys were sitting well together. There was a big crash with four kilometres to go where Martijn came down there and we’re still assessing those injuries right now."

"We had no one directly in the front and Alberto made a massive pull to bring Marius back into a position where he could go for a sprint. Marius had also made a big effort to get there so was also a bit gassed and sprinted to fifth in the end. To be honest, after what happened at four kilometres to go, for the guys to react quickly and still get fifth is a really good effort. It’s a good start to the road stages.”