Lidl-Trek goes all-in to win back pink for Pedersen from Roglic: What did Hoole and Vacek say after the TT?

Hoole impressed with a superb 6th place in the time trial, underlining once again that the Dutchman is in excellent form. Speaking to IDLProCycling.com after the stage, he was still slightly frustrated, at the time, the gap to Edoardo Affini was just two seconds. “It went well, but all those potholes in the road were really annoying. I hit my nose hard against my hands and lost my visor. Still, I gave it everything, didn’t make big mistakes, so I can’t look for excuses.”

“It was a tricky lap. You try to stay aero, so you’re looking down, but then you don’t see the holes in the road, or see them too late. I hit a few, but that’s the same for everyone. Overall, I thought it was a nice circuit, with that tricky climb and a few nice corners,” said Hoole, who already knew the wind might become a factor. “Our weather guy already told us it was going to get windier, but in the end, it probably didn’t make a huge difference.”

The strong time trialist told us before the Giro that the course wasn’t too technical, but after his ride, he reconsidered. “There wasn’t really a pacing plan, because it was basically just go as hard as you can everywhere. That made it a bit more technical. The corners were manageable, but you had to take them with full focus. And when you’re really on the limit, you naturally start taking those corners a little less cleanly.”

Czech rider Mathias Vacek finished one place ahead of Daan Hoole, taking 5th in the time trial and earning the white jersey for best young rider. “I’m happy, it's not every day you get to wear a leader’s jersey in a grand tour. This is only my second grand tour, and I get to wear white again, so that’s pretty special. We’ve had the pink jersey, the points jersey, and now my white one. Next stage, we’ll definitely go for pink again, but for now, I’ll enjoy the white.”

Currently sitting third overall, Vacek isn’t thinking about personal glory in the stage around Vlorë. “We’re going all-in for Mads. It’s only a one-second gap, and there’s a big chance we can take back the pink. With Mads’ form, and the rest of the team’s, I think we’re in a good place,” the Czech rider said with some understated confidence.

“I’m pleased with how my time trial went,” the youngster added. “Congrats to Joshua Tarling and Primoz Roglic, they were simply faster. But I’m still happy with how I rode. I already felt great in stage 1 and gave everything today, but those guys were stronger.”