Pidcock and these GC contenders lost time Like Roglic in gravel stage: "Sorry it didn't go how we wanted"

Take Derek Gee, for example, who came to the Giro to finally compete for the GC. In the last hour and a half of the race, he was mainly seen in the chasing group with Roglic. "It was a really cool stage," his team's X account said afterwards. "The boys had put me in a great spot for when the race kicked off on the first sector. Some of the favorites crashed right after that and I front flatted but luckily we had someone at the side of the road who gave me a front wheel. Then Jakob helped me chase back."

Gee crossed the finish line in Siena 2 minutes and 22 seconds behind stage winner Wout van Aert, the same time as Roglic. "Obviously, on a stage like this, it could’ve gone a lot worse… I mean, it could've gone better, too, but I'm happy with how the legs felt. I got through the stage safely, so now I'm just looking forward to the rest of the race," said the Canadian, keeping his spirits up.

Sunday was less than ideal for Max Poole as well. The young Englishman from Picnic PostNL finished in 38th place in the day's results, just over five minutes behind stage winner Van Aert. "I had a flat tire in the first sector,” Poole explained in an interview with Eurosport about his disappointing day. "I didn't know what was happening at the front because we were trying to catch up. We did that pretty well. I'm proud of the guys. Alex Edmondson returned to do some work, after which Chris Hamilton also did some serious work at the front."

Bad luck in a gravel race is no surprise, as Poole knows. "You know that kind of thing can happen on roads like this. I stayed pretty calm. You can't go completely crazy because you just have to try to get back as quickly as possible," said the Englishman, who wanted to remain optimistic. "I rode well this week, so I'm disappointed it ended like this. Tomorrow is a rest day, and we'll go for it again."

Even though he doesn't seem to be aiming for the GC, Tom Pidcock had undoubtedly hoped for more from the gravel ride. The Englishman from Q36.5 Pro Cycling won the Strade Bianche in 2023, so his calendar marked Sunday's ride in red. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old from Leeds was faced with surprises, as his post on his Instagram shows.

"Crashed, punctured twice," said Pidcock, who did voice his opinion on the debate about whether these kinds of stages belong in Grand Tours. "Still love these stages in grand tours though even when it doesn’t go my way. Chapeau to how my team rode today sorry it didn’t go how we wanted," concluded the Englishman.