Toms Skujins left wondering after second near miss at Giro d'Italia - "What else could I have done?"

For the second time at this year's Giro d'Italia it's a podium finish on a stage for Trek - Segafredo's Toms Skujins. Following the near miss he was left wondering if he could have done anything differently.

“From the start it was a big group, from which I was not going to win," the Latvian explains in a post-stage interview. The group that initially went clear totalled 30 riders but with 90km to go Skujins was part of a group that attacked again and rode clear at the front of the race. "I wanted to go early, but suddenly we had a gap with four. We went uphill as hard as we could, but he stuck to it. And then he won."

The 'he' Skujins mentions there was Nico Denz. Despite the work done by Skujins up the final climb both Denz and Sebastian Berwick were able to stay in contact. It was the German who led out the final sprint and Skujins was simply unable to come around and take the win.

"This was close. What else could I have done?" He questions. "Tell Nico that he shouldn't have sprinted, I don't know. We were up front with four men and wanted to get points with Mads. We succeeded in that, after which we could focus on the stage victory. I have to thank my teammates, I'm disappointed I couldn't give them a win."