Cannondale-Garmin’s Ryder Hesjedal parlayed a strong ride in the individual time trial into important gains on the overall classification at the Giro d’Italia on Saturday. Covering the 59.4 kilometer course in 1:19:50, Hesjedal slotted into 16th place on stage 14, 1:58 behind stage winner Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky). The effort earned him a five-spot jump on the general classification. The 2012 Giro d’Italia winner sits in 15th overall heading into Sunday’s mountain stage.

“It was a good day for Ryder,” said sport director Charly Wegelius. “He has a lot of experience in long time trials like this one, and you could see that in his performance. We were certainly happy with his result.”

The day proved challenging for young Davide Formolo. The stage five winner finished in 26th place on the stage, 5:39 behind Kiryienka. Fourteenth overall at the start of the stage, Formolo ended the day in 19th place.

“Formolo has never ridden a time trial of this length,” said Wegelius. “He has never ridden a time trial after two weeks of racing. Plus, he crashed twice in two days on Thursday and Friday. It was a tough day for him, and tomorrow could be tough again for him given his injuries.”

“We’ll take stock of his objectives on the rest day,” Wegelius added. “We have to take it day by day with him.”

Wegelius confirmed that Cannondale-Garmin invested all their energy into Hesjedal and Formolo on Saturday.

“Sebastian Weber arrived yesterday morning to drive the circuit and takes notes,” said Wegelius. “I did the same directly after the stage yesterday. This morning, both Davide and Ryder rode the last, hard technical part of the course. After that, final decisions were made on pacing, equipment and gearing. The rain only impacted the tire choice, not so much anything else.”

“Following the ride in the morning, they came back to the hotel to eat,” Wegelius added. “They did their usual warm-up and approached the rest of their preparations the same as they would for any other time trial.”

Hesjedal had a special guest in the car behind him. David Millar was at the wheel of a Maserati Ghibili.

The Giro d’Italia returns to the mountains on Sunday’s stage 15. The 165km day begins in Marostica and concludes with a summit finish to Madonna di Campiglio.

“I expect a race for the general classification tomorrow,” said Wegelius. “We’ll see a break go at the start and the GC teams taking over in the final 40 kilometers.”