Alpe di Siusi was the setting of another solid ride from the Luxembourger, who finished 9th and extended his lead in the white jersey standings.
Bob Jungels had two goals at the start of Giro d'Italia's stage 15: return to the top 10 overall and make sure he puts more time into his rivals in the U25 classification. The third individual time trial of this edition was also the toughest one, an uphill ride on Alpe di Siusi (9 kilometers at an average gradient of 8.3%), so everyone was expecting to see some significant gaps between the GC guys, especially as on Monday a rest day followed, so the riders could go all in on the Dolomite climb.
12th in the standings following Saturday's queen-stage, Bob enjoyed a fast start which saw him post the fastest provisional time at the 4.4-km split. His resolute display continued on the tough ramps of Alpe di Siusi – which was returning on the course after a 7-year hiatus – and as he powered on the ascent and continued to gain time on many of his opponents, it became obvious he will get another impressive result at the Corsa Rosa. Stopping the clock in 29:43, the Luxembourg champion finished in 9th position, nabbing his fifth top 10 finish in the space of two weeks, and made an impressive jump in the general classification, up to 8th place.
"I'm really happy with the way I rode in this very difficult time trial. The climb was better suited to me than the ones of Saturday, so I had a fast start and afterwards I just stayed focused on my effort and gave 100% till the line. Unfortunately, the wind changed near the top and because of this I lost some time. Overall, I'm satisfied with my ride and with getting another top 10", were the first conclusions of Bob Jungels following the last time trial of this edition. "I'm now 8th in the GC and my goal for the final week will be to keep my top 10 until Turin. Now we have a rest day and then a hard week awaits, which will be difficult not only for me, but also for the other riders. Normally, I recover well, but you can never know, so we'll take things day by day."
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
