Lidl-Trek and Tudor hopeful after two promising rides on Blockhaus

Jonas Vingegaard won Friday's first mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia, but the fight for the remaining positions in the top ten appears to be well and truly under way. Both Lidl-Trek and Tudor Pro Cycling placed two riders in the top ten on Blockhaus — a foundation of real promise heading into what lies ahead in the remaining two weeks.

For Lidl-Trek, Derek Gee had to let the main group go relatively early, but rode the climb at his own steady pace to finish eighth — one place behind Giulio Ciccone. The Italian was climbing in his home region of Abruzzo and remains eighth overall, and made clear afterwards he is still chasing stage wins.

Gee now finds himself thirteenth overall, and Friday was not a comfortable experience. "You're doing a 40-minute effort and you're also very aware of the riders around you," said the Canadian, who crashed hard on stage two. "I feel a little better every day. If that continues for another two weeks, hopefully it will look good," said last year's fourth-placed finisher. "At the end I was trying to help Giulio and return the favour, but in the last corner he launched his sprint. I thought I could do it too — but he had the better legs," Gee added.

At Tudor Pro Cycling, Mathys Rondel came sixth and Michael Storer ninth. "It was a beautiful climb, even if it was incredibly hard with the wind," Rondel said. "I was hoping for a top ten in the GC to make a good start to the mountain stages, but you never know for sure where everyone stands, so I'm happy with the result."

"I felt good all day, because the pace on the climb was super high and I still felt strong. In the final three kilometres I decided to attack and try to open a gap from our group. Hopefully I can hold on to this good feeling in the coming days," said the young Frenchman — making his Grand Tour debut.

"It was a very long stage and we had no luck with the weather today, but I am very happy with my result overall," Storer added. "The team was incredibly strong, and it was great to see Mathys had the legs to attack and achieve such a strong result. The Giro is still a long race, so I keep taking it day by day."