As Rigoberto Uran crushed all the opposition with his exceptional time trial from Barbaresco to Barolo last Thursday, a solid performance from his key team-mate Wout Poels elevated in-form Dutchman to eight spot in the general classification. The lean Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider admitted that he didn’t expect himself to ride so well against the clock, but nonetheless he is ready to sacrifice his good overall position to defend the maglia rosa, if necessary.

“As long as it continues to go well, I can defend that eight place. However, if Uran needs any help, I’ll have to do what’s necessary. Everything to defend the pink jersey.”

Poels shown signs of increasing disposition while riding in a support of Michał Kwiatkowski in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, eventually winning a queen stage of the event, but in the Giro the 26-year old Dutchman stepped up to entirely different level. While his strong performances in the mountains came as no surprise, such an impressive showing against the clock wasn’t equally expected and the Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider revealed that, like all his team-mates including Uran, he trained a lot on his time trial bike during the winter break. Those trainings certainly paid off, as the Belgian team had four riders in the Thursday’s stage top ten, Gianluca Brambilla and Thomas De Gendt completing the field.

“Yes, it’s been quite a while ago, but I finished fourteenth in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco a few weeks ago,” Poels commented on his slightly surprising showing in the Barbaresco-Barolo time trial.

“In this team we train a lot on time trial bikes. We pay much attention and stand a lot of time on that. It makes a difference,” Poels explained NOS.