Wout Poels' cameo in Campenaerts' vlog shows Unibet Rose Rockets are up for the fight in the mountains

Stage seven of the Giro d'Italia brought the first mountain test — and for most of Unibet Rose Rockets, it was simply a case of surviving the day. But Wout Poels was very much in his element on Blockhaus. The Limburger finished an impressive fourteenth at the top of the brutal climb.

The Rockets had marked Thursday's stage into Naples as a key target — but things went wrong in the final corner for team leader Dylan Groenewegen and lead-out rider Elmar Reinders. Both escaped without serious physical damage and were able to start the 244-kilometre stage to Blockhaus without issue.

Groenewegen ultimately finished 162nd, more than 37 minutes behind winner Jonas Vingegaard. Reinders was alongside him on the final climb, as were Niklas Larsen, Hartthijs de Vries and Lukas Kubis. The Kopecky brothers finished two minutes earlier, in 149th and 150th place.

Poels was home well before any of them. The climber could have tried to go with the early breakaway for a shot at the stage win — but in Victor Campenaerts' daily vlog, the Belgian revealed that he had already told Poels that Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike had Blockhaus firmly in their sights for the stage win.

So it fell to the 38-year-old Dutchman to ride a strong final climb — which is precisely what he did. Poels came home an impressive fourteenth, just ahead of pink jersey holder Afonso Eulalio, and in doing so showed that there is still something on offer for him in the demanding stages ahead.