Yesterday’s 7th stage of the Giro d'Italia was characterized by a lot of short and steep climbs and haunted by rain in the closing parts of the stage, which produced a lot of crashes and influenced the results of the stage.

The Katusha Team was no exception as both Yuriy Trofimov and Petr Ignatenko crashed to the ground.

Katusha’s Giampaolo Caruso finished among the leaders at 11th position while designated team leader Yuriy Trofimov came 33rd, crossing the line with a 42 seconds time deficit. The pink jersey of the race, Luca Paolini, lost 1 minute and 24 seconds to the leader's group and lost the jersey and the leadership in GC of the race.

“I knew today it would be hard to keep the jersey, so the whole team and I gave our best to hold on to it but in the end I expected that we would lose it. Tomorrow [Saturday] sees the start of another Giro for us: we will do everything possible to help Yuriy Trofimov and Giampaolo Caruso to get the best result on general classification. And, of course, I am still in a good shape so if the opportunity presents itself, I will try to win another stage,” said Luca Paolini.

After seven stages Benat Intxausti (Movistar) is the new pink jersey and overall leader. Giampaolo Caruso moved up to 4th place with just 10 seconds adrift. Luca Paolini is now 15th at 58” while Yuriy Trofimov is 18th at 1’ 02”.

Katusha still holds the lead in the teams’ competition.