Daan Olivier has raced to 11th on the mountain top finish of the queen stage of Vuelta a Burgos in Spain. Daan held on to the lead group until late on the climb before finally slipping back to finish just outside the top ten.

The third stage of the race was the queen stage with a succession of hills and then a tough finishing climb to contest. Six riders moved clear early on to mop up the majority of the sprint and KOM points but the team’s of the overall favourites were focused on bringing things back together before the final climb to battle it out on the mountain top finish.

Team Giant-Shimano had the clear goal of protecting Daan today and positioning him for the key climbs in the stage. Daan was still in a great position at the base of the final ascent to the line and as riders dropped away he comforted his position in the race.

He managed to hold on until just under four kilometres to race from which point he had to relinquish the leaders and set his own pace to the finish, eventually coming over the line in 11th position and moving into the top ten overall.

“It was good out there today and the team helped me perfectly, I am really thankful for this. The pace was pretty high all day and then the climbs at the end were hard,” Daan Olivier said after the stage to the Giant webpage.

“We knew we had to be well positioned on the laps that came before the final climb not only for the hills but also as the descents were quite dangerous. This worked well and coming into the final climb I was feeling good. There were about 25 of us in the front group. In the final when the attacks started to come I was able to follow but then I was a bit cooked and had to set my own par for the last four kilometres.”

“Hopefully we can be up there again tomorrow – it’s a stage that could suit a break but I think that Thomas [Damuseau] or Steven [Lammertink] can get up there.”

Team Giant-Shimano coach, Lionel Marie added:

“It was a real hard stage today with 13% sections on the final col but the team worked really well grouping around Daan and helping him. He rode strong to hold on until four k to go and he was in good company up there which will be good for his confidence.”

“He is still young and having the pressure of being protected and having the team work for you will help him develop quickly.”