Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors):
“I was a bit worried when Max punctured, because the finish was nearing and the bunch was going really fast. Fortunately, he came back and I was relieved, because Max is very important for me. I want to say a big thanks to him and to the entire team, they were wonderful today and I couldn’t have asked for more”.
“I would have never imagined such a run on my Grand Tour debut. I was hoping to get a stage win, but to have three so far is beyond any expectations. It’s been a tough race so far, but I feel good and that’s important. I already said it and will repeat it, I want to go all the way to Milan, not only to win the maglia ciclamino, but also to repay Bob as much as I can for his help in these two weeks”.
Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe)
“I made a slight mistake in the final, I wasn’t expecting Quick-Step to come from behind like that, and I went on the wrong side of Rudi [Selig]. I couldn’t make the right call in that second and it cost me the top result again.
“I’m sorry for seeming down about it, but we came here to try and get wins and when the team is doing such a good job I just feel like I’m letting them down.”
Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb)
“Today was a pretty relaxed stage so it was a good day. There was a tailwind in the final which made it really fast, but the team had positioned me well to stay out of any trouble. Tomorrow is another sprint day so we aim to keep safe again and look forward to the mountain stages coming up at the weekend.”
Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb)
“At the beginning of the race I didn’t feel great but luckily my legs came back for the final. It was a good day protecting Tom, and I’m really pleased to take another good result in the sprint. I feel like I am getting closer and closer to the winners in the sprints.”
Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data)
“Coming into the sprint, the team was good in positioning me and Kristian [Sbaragli]. With about two kilometers to go, I moved in front of Kristian to try to move him up. It was quite hard and unfortunately, we lost each other with about 600 meters to go. I was a bit in no-man’s-land, thinking should I go or not. I looked back and saw that Kristian was not there, so I decided to try. I felt really good but I was never really sprinting to win, only to salvage something. Now, we are looking forward to tomorrow, which seems to be the last chance for the sprinters”.
Omar Fraile (Dimension Data)
“The team was really great today. In the last kilometer of the climb, Daniel [Teklehaimanot] pulled so hard it created a gap. Only me and Polanc stayed with him. Polanc then attacked but I had good legs and managed to get around him and take the points. From now on, I’ll take it day by day and see how long I can keep this jersey. The Giro is still long and we have to wait and see what happens”.
Sacha Modolo (UAE Team Emirates)
“I didn’t feel good in the first week of the Giro but now I feel that I am getting better and better with every day that goes by” said Modolo. “Unfortunately I feel that I’m still only at 80% and that is not enough to win at the moment. But who knows, the Giro still has a few stages to go and things may change.”
