This has been touted as the toughest Giro they could throw at riders, and with week 3 as the cherry on one stodgy pie. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would see Kruiswijk more than keeping his own with GT winners and the most prolific names this Giro.
His recovery indeed seems excellent [thanks D.T.], and he appears to have more direct response to explosive attacks than Gesink. It also felt as if he was making more mature race decisions stage by stage too.
It is working out quite well for Rabo to have 'starless' teams tackle the Giro, as it looks the other riders are getting a real chance to discover themselves. Before it all kicked off, some were touting the team as an example of teams that were probably a bit to weak to feature, given the b-squad's entry. Others were pointing out that that same approach worked out quite well last year. I don't think Rabo will be looking back with much regrets, except maybe having to sit down with Kruiswijk's contract again sooner rather than later, now he has shown he's got spiwit in a very attractive shop window.
I am not sure if it just me/us who are pleasantly surprised, I doubt if Kruiswijk had expected to be out there peddling happily along with Contador on the penultimate climb on the last stage either.
It is a real shame that Kreuziger is just pipping him to that white jersey, as it would have been a well deserved crown on a superb youngster's Giro, if he had walked away with it.
I was actually wondering if the poor Etna transition had something to do with Rabo having had the pink jersey in the days running up to it, and that day too?