The first summit finish of the 2017 Vuelta a España proved to be a mixed affair for a trio of Dutch riders. Jetse Bol (Manzana Postobon) enjoyed a stint on the road as virtual race leader while Team Sunweb's Wilco Kelderman found his legs after suffering through the opening stanza.
For Steven Kruijswijk, it was another tough day as he continues to feel the effects of a cold. LottoNL-Jumbo's GC hopes took a hit on the challenging stage 3 but Kruijswijk's hopes all but ended on stage 5 as he conceded further time to his GC rivals. The 30-year-old now sits 28th overall at 2:42 minutes behind race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky).
"Still waiting and looking for the right feeling here in @lavuelta! Thanks to the guys of @LottoJumbo_road to keep supporting me!" Kruijswijk tweeted after the stage.
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LottoNL-Jumbo's sports director Grischa Niermann added that the team remains committed to Kruijswijk despite his illness.
"His team mates did a great job. Steven was well positioned at the start of the final climb," Niermann said. "He isn't completely fit at the moment and that was very inconvenient during this tough stage. Furthermore, a steep final climb as we saw today suits him less than a longer, less steep climb. But we have confidence in him. We expect that he will become better by the day."
Former teammate Kelderman suffered from cramps on stage 3 and having recovered on the stage 4 sprint day, the 26-year-old crossed the line a GC group lead over by Adam Yates of Orica-Scott.
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