Will new crash hurt Ayuso's time trial chances again? "It hurt quite a bit when I started riding"

Sports director Joxean Matxin immediately stated after the stage that Ayuso needed stitches in his knee after a crash. The 22-year-old Spaniard from UAE Team Emirates-XRG was one of the victims when there was a crash on the first section of the day. Roglic and Tom Pidcock were also involved. While they had to change bikes and fell further behind, Ayuso could catch up with a second group, which included almost all the favorites for the GC.

Ayuso gained 1.15 minutes on Roglic, putting him 1.12 minutes ahead of the Slovenian rider from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in the GC. Only his teammate Isaac Del Toro is in a more favorable position, wearing the pink jersey. The Mexican rider was not affected by the crash on Sunday and made his move when INEOS Grenadiers attempted a coup. However, while Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman dropped back into the Ayuso group, Del Toro finished second behind winner Wout van Aert.

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During a press conference with Ayuso, Del Toro, and Matxin on Monday, the vibe was good, as IDLProCycling.com could notice. "I think it went really well for the team. Of course, I would have preferred not to crash again because that already happened to me on day 1. It was a hectic and stressful day, with full throttle from the crash to the finish. I was constantly afraid of a flat tire, but I managed to save the day reasonably well, and Isaac had a fantastic day, of course," said Ayuso.

Matxin was also satisfied. "Right now, we're in a perfect situation where others have to attack, and we can defend. Our only goal is to win the Giro, and every day we have to decide how to achieve that," he said, referring to the strange situation in which domestique Del Toro suddenly finds himself in the pink jersey. The Mexican rider showed hardly any weakness on the climbs or on the time trial bike, with a second week in which the GC contenders are being tested very little after the time trial.

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The 28.6-kilometer time trial on Tuesday should normally be a chance for Ayuso to make up time, including on Del Toro. But the Spaniard was quite battered after Sunday, just as he could not go full throttle in the time trial on day 2 after a crash on day 1. "The problem was that I fell on my knee and needed three stitches. That hurts a lot, but luckily, today (Monday, ed.) is a rest day, and I can recover. If my knee can heal a bit more, it shouldn't affect my performance."

Still, Ayuso was quite nervous when he set off for a coffee run on Monday morning. "Honestly, it hurt quite a bit when I started cycling, and I was really worried for the first 20 minutes. But once I got warmed up, it got better on the way back to the hotel. I hope it gets better with a day of recovery because it's positive that it's only the bone and not a muscle in the knee. I need my knee to perform. It's never ideal to crash, but I should be okay."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])