Patrick Lefevere described the Monte Lussari mountain time trial as “a circus,” saying he was “300% in opposition to” the course design, but the riders who raced up the 15% slopes and emerged on the beautiful sanctuary beloved each second.
The stage additionally produced a dramatic finale to the 2023 Giro d’Italia as Primož Roglič did sufficient to take the maglia rosa from Geraint Thomas.
“Go searching! It isn’t a circus, it is superb,” Alessandro De Marchi (Jayco-AlUla) instructed Cyclingnews after his experience.
Born domestically, De Marchi waved and pointed his finger to the enthusiastic crowds who cheered Roglič to victory and each rider up the climb.
“Everyone is having fun with a pleasant and totally different day on the Giro,” De Marchi added.
Aurélien Paret-Peintre (AG2R Citroën), winner of stage 4 to Lago Laceno, loved a remaining day of struggling within the Giro d’Italia. His fifteenth place on the stage was sufficient to safe fifteenth total.
“It was a pleasant time trial,” the Frenchman mentioned. “The course wasn’t extra demanding than a ‘regular’ time trial, the ability was the identical.”
Paret-Peintre praised Giro d’Italia organisers RCS Sport.
“The stage organisation was very totally different to what we’d heard three weeks in the past. It wasn’t ‘folklore’. The zone of motorcycle change was properly organised,” he mentioned.
“It was an unbelievable course, it is good we are able to have it,” echoed his countryman Thomas Champion (Cofidis), who sat on the hotseat early within the day. He’s set to win essentially the most aggressive rider prize on this 12 months’s Giro after happening the assault for an unbelievable 785km in 5 lengthy breakaways.
“The Italian and Slovenian tifosi have been on fireplace. That is the type of route and ambiance we count on from an actual Giro,” he mentioned.
Early race chief Andreas Leknessund (Crew DSM) is satisfied that very steep time trials “have a spot” in a Grand Tour.
“Riders should deal with totally different sorts of stuff, and that is a part of it,” he mentioned, transferring up from ninth to eighth with one other good efficiency on the stage 20 time trial.
“You do not know easy methods to count on so late within the race, you do not know the numbers you may push, that is what makes it much more attention-grabbing,” he mentioned.
Sepp Kuss, a teammate of Roglič, celebrated a special occasion for Jumbo-Visma. He completed a robust sixth on the stage after which sat and watched Roglič take management of the maglia rosa.
“Everyone was ready for this time trial, they knew how vital it might be,” the American instructed Cyclingnews.
“It’s such an exquisite place, so I loved the sufferfest.”
