Kittel: 'Even when I look at this realistically, I'm extremely positive about it'

The Giro d'Italia's opening three days are done — and the Unibet Rose Rockets have shown they fully belong at this race. On day three, Dylan Groenewegen came agonisingly close to a stage win, only for a split second of hesitation to cost him the stage. Sprint coach Marcel Kittel saw the bigger picture when he spoke to IDL Pro Cycling.

Where day one had been far from smooth — with Groenewegen eventually crashing while too far forward in the bunch — the sprint train was now firing on all cylinders. Elmar Reinders was able to begin his lead-out from a perfect position and delivered Groenewegen at exactly the right moment — but in the chaos, one moment of hesitation cost him the fastest route to the line: the inside of the bend in the final few hundred metres.

With that section also running across Sofia's city cobblestones, it took Groenewegen a moment to find his rhythm again. He came through powerfully in the final 100 metres, but it was too late. "I should have gone earlier — with around 200 metres to go. I had the speed, so that was just stupid," he said himself after the stage.

"Yes, I think so too."

"Dylan hesitated before that left-hand bend. He had to brake or ease off for just a fraction of a second. That's what happened, and that's where you lose exactly the speed you need.

But even when I look at this realistically, I'm extremely positive about it. In the first three days of this Giro d'Italia, we have grown."

"On day one, the cooperation between the riders wasn't quite at its best yet — it's still a team that needs to bed in a bit more. (In part because of integrating Lukas Kubis and Matyáš Kopecký into the lead-out train, ed.)

I think that by day three we've already shown in an impressive way that we can do this. We're sprinting here against the best teams and sprinters in the world, and we showed ourselves in this finale — which was actually pretty tricky. There were no real bends to use, which makes it a waiting game.

I also have to give credit to Elmar Reinders, who coached the team brilliantly in the finale. That is a really solid foundation, despite the disappointment of not winning. For Dylan, this is an important confirmation."

"Absolutely. He is in great shape. The pace he showed at the end was enormous. Dylan is good — and of course he's disappointed, but that disappointment comes from the right place."

"Dylan is a top athlete and he doesn't come here to finish third. I completely understand that. But this is our first Grand Tour and we have shown — through control and by taking the initiative — that we matter."

"Definitely. We'll sit down and go through it calmly — that's what the rest day is for. This is the foundation we want and need to build on ahead of the next sprint opportunity, which will be stage 6 in Naples."