Giro Tappa 1 – Matthias Brändle: – I came to win, but I found stronger than me –

THE EXPLANATION: “I came to win, but I found that was too difficult for me,” Matthias Brändle commented after finishing 9th in the windy prologue for the Giro kickoff.  “I really felt very good on the bike, which is one reason I am so disappointed.  Now we will do everything possible to win a stage with our sprinters or perhaps in a breakaway.”

THE ANALYSIS: IAM Cycling sports manager, Rik Verbrugghe was realistic when taking stock of the performance his riders gave.  “Matthias Brändle did a strong prologue, but this did not prove to be sufficient to win the stage.  Meanwhile, Roger Kluge found an extra gear and narrowly missed the top-10.  Now we must make every effort to meet our goal of winning at least one stage.  In the Netherlands, it is very windy, so we will have to be attentive in order to be present in the breakaways, or indeed in preparation for a mass sprint.”

THE RECKONING: “I just felt awful today,” exclaimed Heinrich Haussler before cycling the 28 kilometers to his hotel.  “It’s more important, though, to make sure the legs are turning properly this weekend where we will likely have sprint finishes.”

THE PLEASANT SURPRISE: Roger Kluge. The German racer who is a recent silver medalists at the world championships in the points race on the track, grabbed himself a strong and surprising 11th place in the prologue, losing just two seconds to his teammate and prologue specialist, Matthias Brändle.

THE WEATHER: With a bright and sunny day, and the temperature in excess of 23 degrees Celsius, the organizers of the start of the Giro have been much more fortunate with the weather than those at the recent Tour of Romandie.

THE NUMBER: 1. In terms on hundredths of seconds, that was the gap between Tom Dumoulin (Giant Alpecin), winner of the stage and wearer of the first pink jersey, and Primoz Roglic, who took second place.