Giro D'Italia Stage Seventeen winner Roger Kluge has said that his victory will not stop IAM Cycling from folding at the end of the year.
Roger Kluge said in the press conference: “I don’t think my stage victory will change [IAM Cycling team owner] Michel [Thétaz]’s decision [to stop the team at the end of this year]. It’s something to give back to him. He had been looking forward to the team’s first victory in a Grand Tour. It’s not the last one I hope. Last year, on the last day of the Giro, I won the bunch sprint for third place and I hope I can win a bunch sprint for the first place this coming Sunday in Turin. It’s hard to believe I made it today. I think I took the last corner faster than the peloton and that was the key for winning”.
Maglia Rosa Steven Kruijswijk said in the press conference: “A lot of riders, including the most famous ones, came to congratulate me this morning for what I did yesterday. I know they liked the way I raced. They were congratulating me on yesterday's ride, not on keeping the Maglia Rosa until Turin. I myself don’t think that I’ve already won the Giro. The only thing I can do is to try my best, and do what I have been doing for the past two and a half weeks. I’ll do it with confidence because I don’t have a weak point”.
Maglia Rossa Giacomo Nizzolo said: “I have nothing to regret. I’m angry but it’s normal. It would have been so fantastic to win my first Giro d’Italia stage here, close to home. I had one team-mate too few to close the gap on Roger Kluge but that’s because my team had to work extremely hard earlier on to chase down the breakaway. I still have a chance to win a stage on Sunday in Turin”.
FINAL RESULT
1 - Roger Kluge (IAM Cycling) - 196km in 4h31'29", ave. 43.317km/h
2 - Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek - Segafredo) s.t.
3 - Nikias Arndt (Team Giant - Alpecin) s.t.
JERSEYS
- Maglia Rosa (pink), General Classification, sponsored by Enel - Steven Kruijswijk (Team Lotto NL - Jumbo)
- Maglia Rossa (red), Sprint Classification, sponsored by Algida - Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek - Segafredo)
- Maglia Azzurra (blue), Mountains Classification, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum - Damiano Cunego (Nippo - Vini Fantini)
- Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider Classification, sponsored by Eurospin - Bob Jungels (Etixx - Quick-Step)
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 - Steven Kruijswijk (Team Lotto NL - Jumbo)
2 - Esteban Chaves (Orica Greenedge) at 3'00"
3 - Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) at 3'23"
4 - Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) at 4'43"
5 - Ilnur Zakarin (Team Katusha) at 4'50"
STATISTICS
- Fourth stage in a row with first-time stage winner at the Giro d’Italia. After Esteban Chaves, Alexander Foliforov and Alejandro Valverde, Roger Kluge gets his first Grand Tour victory – as well as his first WorldTour win. His only previous podium at the Giro was third in the last stage last year in Milan, where he won the bunch gallop behind breakaway riders Iljo Keisse and Luke Durbridge
- For the first time, three different German riders have won at least one stage in a Giro d’Italia (with Marcel Kittel, André Greipel and Roger Kluge). German riders now have taken 32 stage victories at the Giro since 1932, when Herman Buse won stage 2 from Vicenza to Udine. May 25 is the anniversary of Rudi Altig’s stage victory in 1967 in a criterium in Palermo
- German riders have now won more stages this year (6) than in the past five years (5 from 2010 to 2015)
- 13th podium and still no stage victory for Giacomo Nizzolo at the Giro d’Italia (9 second places, 4 third). Only Pietro Rimoldi (with 5 second places and 9 third) has made more podiums without ever winning a stage (in the 1930s)