Although Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) was not receiving time gaps in his earpiece, he must have had a fair idea that he was winning the Giro d'Italia. Turning a mammoth gear of 58x11 as he left the start gate in Monza, he composed crisp lines through the early bends of the concluding time trial with the concision of Piet Mondrian.
Dumoulin began the day in fourth place overall, 53 seconds off race leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar), and he knew that he needed to peg back a shade more than 1.8 seconds per kilometre if he was to divest the Colombian of the maglia rosa. By the first time check, Dumoulin was gaining on Quintana at a rate of 3.5 seconds per kilometre. Come the second checkpoint after 17.4 kilometres, he was the virtual race leader. By then, he was already receiving orders not to take undue risks on the final run-in to the stage 21 finish in Milan.
On crossing the finish line in Piazza Duomo, Dumoulin was ushered swiftly to the podium area, which stood in the shadow of the mighty cathedral. The beaming faces of the Sunweb support staff that greeted him told him that the Giro was his, and Dumoulin broke into a broad smile as he freewheeled to a halt.
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Dumoulin's blood ran cold, however, when he retired to a tent behind the rostrum to watch on television as his rivals finish their time trials. As Quintana rattled across tram lines on the entry to Milan, the on-screen graphics erroneously suggested his deficit in the virtual general classification was a mere three seconds. Dumoulin's features tightened into a picture of concern as he processed the information.
Only when Quintana entered the final kilometre could Dumoulin accept that all was true: He had indeed won the Giro d'Italia. Second place in the time trial gave Dumoulin overall victory, 31 seconds clear of Quintana and 40 ahead of Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).
"I didn't know any time gaps, because I just wanted to focus on my own TT. Then I spoke to my sports director, and he told me not to take risks anymore in the corners. He said that already at halfway, and then in the last kilometres he told me to be really safe," Dumoulin said. "When I crossed the line, everybody told me, 'You've won, you've won.' But then I looked at the TV and the gap was only three seconds, and I was so angry with everyone. 'How can you say I've won it?' And I'd already celebrated too ... But eventually it all came good."
The third man
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