Team LottoNL-Jumbo began the 98th Giro d'Italia today with 13th place in the team time trial. The men in black and yellow went in 20’02” in stage one in Sanremo. Orica-GreenEdge was 36 seconds faster and helped Simon Gerrans to take the first pink jersey of the race.
 
“We did a good team time trial given our abilities,” Steven Kruijswijk said, looking back satisfied on the 17.6-kilometre stage.
 
“There will always be points for improvement, but everyone did what he could and we went pretty fast. The time differences with the other teams are small, as you can see in the results.”
 
Kruijswijk was pleased with the way his legs felt during the opening day of the first grand tour of the year.
 
“I wanted to contribute today, but we have a couple of big engines in the team and I had to be careful not to blow up. I’m glad I was able to do my job. Everyone is fit. We can build on that.”
 
Sports Director Frans Maassen climbed out of the team car in Sanremo and shared his feeling about the first kilometres of the race.
 
“The TT went pretty well. Everyone was focused and the men gave everything they had. We were motivated and confident thanks to the Bianchi time trial bikes. I was hoping for a place in the top ten, which would have been possible if we had started more aggressively.”

Maassen enjoyed the course and the atmosphere on the Riviera dei Fiori bike path on Saturday.
 
“It was a beautiful time trial. The track was fast, but not very technical. There were two difficult points, but those affected everyone, so there was little time to gain or lose there.”