Known as a specialist, Patrick Gretsch (Ag2r) did one of the best time trials of his life when he finished fourth in stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia.

"I'm happy with my time as I finished as the best but I was quickly beaten by Kiryienka," he said. "My goal was to win and I'm not far off. I have worked a lot and I have progressed at all levels due to the work with the team, Focus Bikes and my coach Mickaël Bouget. This result is good for the morale.

"The 60km time trial in the rain was really difficult . I looked at it this morning in the car. Yesterday I could pinpoint the important turns on Google map. It's super important if you want to do well. "