"This was the fight I expected yesterday" - Andreas Leknessund shows great heart as he battles to hold onto his Maglia Rosa

A brave performance from the Maglia Rosa Andreas Leknessund saw the Team DSM hold onto his overall race lead at the Giro d'Italia as the GC battle ignited for the first time in this year's race.

“It is a great relief. It is very nice to keep the jersey," the 23-year-old Norwegian revealed in his post-stage interview after successfully holding onto the Maglia Rosa by just 8 seconds from Remco Evenepoel. "It was a good fight, I had to go very deep. This was the fight I expected yesterday and was hoping for then. The fact that we now went full throttle and I really had to fight for it, is very nice.”

After being the only rider to initially follow Primoz Roglic's attack, Leknessund eventually lost the Slovenian's wheel but managed to pace himself to the finish well enough to keep the race lead for another day. "I've done everything in my power. I decided with sixty kilometers to go, when the final started, that I just had to give everything today," he said. "The full one hundred percent? I have done that."

With tomorrow's stage being a time-trial and with only an 8 second advantage over Evenepoel, the chances of Leknessund taking the Maglia Rosa into Monday's rest day are slim. Nevertheless, today is a day the Norwegian enjoyed. “I am very happy and proud of how I rode and of the team. We did very well in the final. They kept me in good position which kept me up front all day. This was a very nice day."