Van Uden tried to outsmart Kooij, surprise third-place finisher calls it "a terrible day with a beautiful ending"

The fast man from Schiedam came out of the final corner in a strong position but still had to close the gap to Kooij and his lead-out man Wout van Aert. Van Uden launched early in an effort to surprise, but Kooij was alert and reacted immediately to the Picnic PostNL sprinter’s move.

“I went a bit too early,” Van Uden told CyclingProNet. “But I think it was a solid sprint. I can be satisfied with it for now. I left a small gap after the corner to build up speed toward the riders in front of me and try to launch past them. Olav looked to the side right then and opened up his sprint too, so that took away some of the element of surprise. But overall, I think it was a good effort.”

“Maybe it was too early, but better too early than too late,” Van Uden added. “It was pretty chaotic before that. Everyone wanted to be near the front, so it was just close your eyes and go. I think we did a good job and I was brought into position really well, so we can be happy. I was in a good wheel and wanted to go long. Kooij is obviously very fast, so there’s no shame in being beaten by him.”

Behind the two Dutchmen, Ben Turner of INEOS Grenadiers surprisingly claimed third place. “I’m really happy. It was a terrible day, but it ended in a really good way and that’s what matters,” said the former cyclocrosser. “Why was it terrible? It just felt uncomfortable for a long time.”

“I got a great lead-out from two big talents, Kim Heiduk and Josh Tarling. Finishing third in a Giro stage feels amazing. I’m actually a bit shocked,” the Brit added with a laugh.