When Ivan Basso finished 30th in today's Giro d'Italia time trial, most thought that it was just the result of a poor ride bu the veteran. That wasn't the case though as he suffered from an extreme amount of bad luck that included both a crash and a puncture.

The General Classification of the 2014 Giro d’Italia started to take a more definitive shape today. The reason was the stage. A 41.9km individual time trial from Barbaresco to Barolo. The length is long for a Giro time trial, and with all the riders having to face the course on their own, the gaps in form and desire become more apparent.

While every rider on Cannondale Pro Cycling has an objective for the day, only one was racing for a result. Team Captain Ivan Basso needs a good ride today to move up in the overall standings. The rest of the team merely needed to finish fast enough not to get cut on time. They need to save their energy for the days ahead.

The route from Barbaresco to Barolo has something for everyone. There’s climbing, there are flat roads, there are straightaway, there are tight turns. It’s hard to find someone who is actually a specialist at this type of course, other than a motivated rider who has excellent focus.

Time trial start orders are the reverse of general classification standings. The guys last start first. As a result, Cannondale Grand Tour neophyte Michel Koch was among the first to start, and the first to finish with an average speed over 40kph.

Shortly after the stage started, the rain came. Not heavy, but more than enough to make the course slick. An extra dimension for the racers to consider.

As the racers took off, the skies remained heavy, but the roads started to dry out. Not completely dry, but some wet, some dry, and some damp.

Basso started tenth from last, with some favorites on the road ahead of him, and the rest starting behind. He quickly settled into his aero tuck and focused on tapping out a steady fast rhythm.

Just before the first time check, one of Basso’s tires was punctured. He stopped, and was quickly given a spare bike. He jumped about the new bike and went about trying to re-find his rhythm. Then, with four kilometers remaining, his tires lost grip on a slippery turn and he hit the deck. It was another blow, both to his time, and his focus. He got back on his bike, but struggled to get up to speed.

The two stops as well as the mental disturbances that go with cost Basso dearly. He crossed the line in 21st position with nine riders remaining. All nine went faster, and he dropped to 30th on the day, 4:05 down on the race lead, and dropping one place, to eleventh overall, 5:09 in arrears.

In the end, the race lead swapped shoulders from Evans to Uran. Uran found his rhythm and put in the best time trial performance of his career, winning the time trial by 1:17 over surprise second-place finisher Diego Ulissi of Lampre-Merida, and 1:34 over race leader Evans.

It was a disappointing ride for the Cannondale team captain.

“Two stops in time trial are big problems in terms of time," he said. "Besides the important seconds I lost due to stopping, I also lost the rhythm of the race. The result doesn’t reflect the real performance I did at all.

"If I have to comment the result, I’m not happy. But looking to the performance, yes. Anyway, you can’t fight bad luck. What I understand from this race is that I feel good – this is the signal I need before the mountains.”

Tomorrow’s ride, lucky Stage Thirteen, takes the riders 157km from Fossano to Rivarolo Canavese. As it’s among the last flat finishes to the Giro this year, the sprinters will be itching to have another shot at a stage win. Cannondale Pro Cycling is keen to get sprint points and a stage win for Elia Viviani. They’ve demonstrated they have one of the best sprint trains at the Giro; they should be able to get a result that matches their class.