Stage 20 was the last chance to either gain or lose time. To the satisfaction of Tudor Pro Cycling, Michael Storer belonged to those who had a good day on Monte Grappa and the Australian moved into the top 10 at the very last opportunity to do so.
"The stage went super well indeed," Storer told Cycling Pro Net. "I felt very strong and managed to stay with the very strong classification riders for quite a long time."
For a brief moment Storer tried to keep up with the group of Daniel Martínez, Antonio Tiberi and Einer Rubio, however he later paid for his efforts as he lost contact not only with the trio, but also with the chasing group of Geraint Thomas and Ben O'Connor which caught up with the Martínez's group in the descent. This effort cost Storer 24 seconds which wouldn't have been enough to shake off Bardet from his 9th place though.
"I did make a small mistake at one point, although it didn't make much difference at the end of the stage. With a top ten ranking in the final classification you have to be satisfied, so I am. It is the first Giro ever for our team, but I think we have shown that we can stand our ground."