Steven has done very well regarding his general classification in the third stage of the Giro d’Italia. The leader of Team Jumbo-Visma climbed among the best on Mount Etna and finished the stage in tenth place just behind Nibali and Fuglsang. In the overall standings the Dutchman is also in tenth position, at 1.15 behind the new leader Joao Almeida.

The stage was marked by an early breakaway of eight riders. They got a maximum lead of more than five minutes and eventually competed for the stage victory. Behind them, Steven was well-protected by his teammates. They brought their leader to the final climb in an ideal position. On the climb, Steven had a hard time with the continuous accelerations. However, he was able to return again and again by continuing to ride his own pace.

“It was a very tough stage”, Steven explained. “The pace was very high, especially at the end. As a result, the race was really split apart. Luckily I was able to join the best guys, but it wasn’t easy. For today my performance was good enough, but it still needs to improve. I had a good feeling and I didn’t lose too much time. I just lack that few percent to really compete with the best. Today was a good test and I am glad that I passed the test really well. The Giro is still very long and you never know what can happen, as we have seen today for example, with GC guys losing a lot of time or are already out of contention due to bad luck.”