Steven Kruijswijk finished fourth in the Giro d’Italia today in Turin behind winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana). Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s race began with three impressive days in the Netherlands, Maarten Tjallingii wore the blue jersey one day, Primoz Roglic won a stage and Steven Kruijswijk was the race’s leader four five stages. Nikias Arndt (Giant - Alpecin) won the final stage.

“The Giro began beautifully,” Sports Director Jan Boven said. “The start in Apeldoorn was amazing. Primoz Roglic delivered an unexpected second place. There was disappointment about Jos van Emden’s crash on the other hand. Because of the fan’s support on the roads, we had two great days afterwards. We raced better than we thought we were able to and we were focussed. We were able to keep on doing that when we entered Italy.”

Tjallingii wore the blue jersey during the first stage in Italy. He grabbed took it by winning the mountain sprint on the Posbank, during the first Sunday. “That was my personal highlight of this race,” Tjallingii said. “We experienced a lot of highlights in these three weeks and fought for the victory, every day.”

Primoz Roglic

That fight earned a victory in the ninth stage of the race, with Roglic’s time trial in Chianti. “I didn’t know what to expect from my first big tour, but it was an amazing experience,” the Slovenian said. “A lot happened. It started with my second place in the prologue. That was more than I expected. There was a little bit of disappointment because I was so close to the victory. My crash in the third stage wasn’t too frustrating for me. I didn’t aim for the general classification, but winning the second time trial was a very special moment. I have no words to say how beautiful that was.”

Pink jersey days

Six days later, Kruijswijk delivered another strong mountain stage in this race and rewarded himself with the overall lead. “The day I grabbed the pink jersey and gave a knock to my competitors, was my highlight this Giro d’Italia,” Kruijswijk added. “I felt great the whole day. I actually planned to save as much energy as possible to be as fresh as possible during the uphill time trial the day after, but because everything went so well, I decided to attack. I’m proud of the way I was able to race in this Giro. The leader’s jersey brings another sort of joy. Everyone’s watching you and wanting to take that jersey from you. There is nothing more beautiful than beating the favourites and riding in that position.”

Kruijswijk held his pink jersey until the 19th stage. In the descent of the Colle dell’Agnello, he crashed and lost a lot of time. “I knew that Nibali was going to go strongly on the descent,” Kruijswijk continued. “I wanted to follow him, but wasn’t able to look through the turn very well because of the snow. I made a mistake, slipped away and rode into that wall of snow. Before this Giro, I might have been happy with this fourth place, but you have to take the chances you get. I failed at doing that in this race and that’s a shame.”

Kruijswijk experienced team-mates praised their leader. “Let’s hope that Steven will have more of these highlights in his career and that he will be able to finish it off beautifully with a pink jersey,” Tjallingii said. “Steven might be able to learn from this. The team will grow because of this race, as well.”

“It’s very unfortunate that he didn’t take the Giro victory, but I have to take my hat off for Steven,” van Emden added. “Every rider knows how hard it is to move on after such a crash. I think that he delivered a great final part of Friday’s stage when you look at the circumstances.”

“Kruijswijk showed strongly, but it’s really disappointing that he didn’t win the Giro,” Bram Tankink added. “That’s the predominant feeling now, but still we must acknowledge how beautiful this Giro was.”

Enrico Battaglin

“I’m tired,” Enrico Battaglin said. The Italian was one of the most important team-mates for Kruijswijk during the mountain stages. “We did a great job this Giro. Steven’s crash is very unfortunate. That was a hard moment. We did the best we could as a team. That’s why I’m disappointed about missing the victory. It was a dream to win the Giro with the team, and we were so close to making this dream come true.”

Martijn Keizer

“I think that we delivered a very strong Giro,” Martijn Keizer added. “What happened in the final week is tough. You don’t want to lose the jersey in a way like that. We can be proud of ourselves, though. We really rode like a team. I’ve prepared for this Giro at altitude together with Steven and Primoz. During the race, I did what I was able to to help Steven. The whole team was very strong this race and we can be happy with that.”

Twan Castelijns

Twan Castelijns made his grand tour in this Giro. “It was my first big tour and a very beautiful one. The way it turned out with Steven is a shame. We fought for it so that was tough for me. I wasn’t in my best form anymore during the final days of the race. That I’m able to finish this Giro is a personal highlight. I wanted to give everything I had for the team, but I wanted to complete the race myself, as well.

“The days in the Netherlands were impressive. The passion with the Italian fans was quite intense, too. Those things, and the publicity around Steven’s pink jersey and riding through the highest mountains, made this a very special experience for me.”

Addy Engels

“We delivered a fantastic Giro with the team,” Addy Engels added. “We should absolutely be proud of that. We were so close to the victory, but we reached our goals. Steven finished fourth and we won a stage. We weren’t expecting Steven to do such a great job after Friday’s stage. It’s a pity that he fell out of the top three, but fourth place is a lot more than we were counting on.”