In the past, Robert Kiserlovski (Trek) has often lost a massive amount of time in the time trials and so he headed into today's Giro d'Italia TT with a defensive mindset. Despite losing 3.29 to stage winner Rigoberto Uran, he remained in the top 10 overall and he was very pleased with his performance that was a clear sign of improvement in the discipline.

The rain returned for the 12th stage making an already tricky time trial course more treacherous. 

Trek Factory Racing’s GC leader Robert Kiserlovski finished in 29thplace (+3'29"). It was enough to slot him in to 10th overall, which was the goal leading into the decisive stage. It was also an effort he was exceptionally pleased with.

“I did really well – last year I lost around 5-6 minutes so I am really happy with my time this year," Kiserlovski said. "I did not risk in the downhill, and in the last climb I lost a bit of rhythm because I could feel my back wheel slipping. It happened two or three times and because of that I lost concentration. So with all that it’s a good result and I am really happy.”

The biggest climb (3.1km, 5%) of the undulant, serpentine 41.9-kilometer course came early, at 12.6 kilometers, where the first time split was taken. Near the end the second significant incline arrived, followed in quick succession by a gradual two kilometer uphill to the finish - a searing ending to an already tough course.

The wet roads caused riders to inch slowly around the technical bends on the narrow roads, which added to the unruly parcours and further disrupted any possible rhythm. It was a difficult course to navigate in dry conditions and the rain enhanced the challenge; when the last rider crossed the line the time gaps in GC had stretched significantly.

Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) won the time trial in a dominating performance and wrestled the maglia rosa from Cadel Evans (BMC) who now sits in second overall (+37”).  Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) held his third place, but his gap to the pink jersey swelled to almost two minutes.

“Robert was consistent; he took the right amount of risk," sports direcor Adriano Baffi said. "It really was a good TT by him. Uran made a big gap, sure, but [General Manager and coach] Luca Guercilena and I discussed how important it was for Robert to minimize time loss today, and he achieved that.

"We know the time trial is Robert’s weakness. In the last years he has not had good time trials other than the Vuelta last year. But today he confirmed that he has improved his TT ability. He lost one to one and a half minutes to those around him, but our goal was to put him in the top 10 overall. For that he did a really nice TT.”

Today’s time trial was the first big test amongst GC contenders and with it came the first substantial dents in the overall. However, the Giro is far from finished: the crucial mountain stages fall in the last week, plus what may be the decisive stage - an uphill time trial - is set for the third last day.  Without question, the final GC has many more opportunities to overhaul.

“I think Uran did an incredible TT today – all the [GC contenders] were around two minutes back," Kiserlovski said. "To stay in the top 10 is the first goal, but I would like to fight for the top 5.  This TT today gives me confidence for the future.

"I said to everyone that if I finish top 10, it’s good, but if I finish top five then I know it’s a good sign for the future and that I have not reached my limit. I am 27 years old, and I think I can still improve.”