Romain Bardet: "We can end the first week on a high note"

Romain Bardet has withstood and thrived in the Giro d'Italia's first real GC challenge, and has put on an impressive performance that confirms his status as a candidate to the final victory in Verona.

Most of the race's decisive stages are yet to come, however the Frenchman presented himself with a brilliant performance at Blockhaus, matching the attacks of Richard Carapaz and Mikel Landa. “I think from a GC perspective we are in a good place. We are where we need to be. It was really great, we’ve felt in control so far in the Giro – the guys have rode amazingly well," he said after the finish.

Bardet finished second on the day, beat only by Jai Hindley who launched his sprint early in a move that proved successful. The leader of Team DSM was close to his first win at the Italian Grand Tour, however he takes away positive points from the day - where Thymen Arensman also rode to a Top10 place to remain an option for the overall classification.

"Of course today there is a bit of frustration because I would liked to have won but there are still plenty of stages left and for sure we are a good position so we can end the first week on a high note," he concluded.