"I came to the Giro d'Italia with the objective to win a stage because I knew that my condition was really good from the Classics. But for some bad luck and some situation, you never really collect anything. Until now it was just empty. I was sure that sooner or later a stage for me would come. First I was thinking of Asolo, but it didn't go as I expected because Jungels attacked.
"Today was perfect. We knew the breakaway could go, but I have to say I found really good legs in the climb. I knew I had to go with my tempo and keep the best as I can a little under the limit to not explode, and keep the guys there. Brambilla was perfect in the front because he didn't have to pull because I was behind. Cannondale has to win, so all the stress was on them, not on us. I managed to go away in the last climb, I just put all the power I could on the pedals and it was just perfect."
"I tell you, I was very good, very good but Trentin had good legs. I tried to play it and keep Moser a little bit tired to keep him in the front and to try and make the different but I couldn't keep the difference to get away from him on the climb. I saw a blue jersey coming around so I stopped helping Moser, I just stayed in the wheel and we managed to get the victory. I'm really happy for Matteo."
"I didn’t see much of the rest of the peloton today, only my own team in front of me. They were really strong, and kept me safe all day and out of the wind. I think we did a really good job on the last climb. We kept the right pace, a lot of the guys could follow and there were no attacks. On the last climb, I stayed in the front and kept an eye on everyone.
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[On his falter on the last cobbled climb] "It's a little bit different on the cobbles. When you're standing your bike is going everywhere, so I had to sit down for one moment. It wasn't because I couldn't follow. I saw [Alejandro] Valverde go and I was on his wheel, no problems."
"It could have been worse eh? - It's another stage for our team. I stayed with the best, and I felt good on the climb. We had good weather the whole day, it was a nice day in the saddle. It's good for the next few days. It's going to be a hard day - it might be a little similar to the day before yesterday. Hard from the beginning on, which could suit me if the climbs are not so steep. We have nothing to lose anymore."
"A breakaway was enough [today]. It was a long stage, but it was a big group so it wasn't that hard, but the final was very tough. In the beginning I felt quite good, of course it was all flat. In the end, I ran out of energy and on the climb it was really hard to just keep going forward. I hope I can recover because tomorrow is maybe OK, but the other two days are very hard. I hope I can make it to Turin, but it we will see after Friday and Saturday."
