Ex-Giro winner concerned for the riders after stage 5: 'an assault on your body and your form'

Tom Dumoulin was road-side in Potenza on Wednesday as the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia arrived. The former Giro winner watched the riders cross the line after their long, cold, wet ordeal. Speaking to HBO Max afterwards, he believes the physical cost will make itself felt in the days ahead.

"You see the guys coming in here shivering and shaking. I don't think I've ever come in like this many times in my career — it's been an absolutely dreadful day," Dumoulin told presenter Sander Kleikers.

"This was extreme. I saw Scaroni as one of the first to come in — he was in the front group — and he was completely frozen on the bike. That is going to have an effec4t on the riders over the coming days," Dumoulin said, before explaining his thinking.

"It's an assault on your body and your form. You need to recover from that — but the next stage will also be in bad weather. And then it's Blockhaus on Friday, which should be better conditions. But you'll have had two days of this misery beforehand, and that can really take a toll on your legs. I'm very curious to see how it plays out — but it certainly hasn't been pleasant for the riders."

"For spectators it was a spectacular stage — so much happened out there. But I have a huge amount of sympathy for the riders. Your head might still be in it, but your hands go numb and then you have less control over your steering and your speed," the Limburger continued.

"Of course that plays a role — but you also can't deny that the roads were incredibly slippery. With Arrieta, we even saw his rear wheel sliding on the climb: it was slippery, miserably cold, and there was so much rain," he concluded.