By John Trevorrow in Varazze
Antonio Cruz (Discovery Channel, 22nd at 22'16)
Was it a hard day on the front today? "Oh yeah. All day on the front on a hot day."
Were you surprised that the Fassa train didn't get organised and pull everyone back? "It was really weird, their tactics. They'd bring back the break and another one would go. but they didn't seem to have the will to control it. If they had, then it would have been easier for everybody."
Henk Vogels (Davitamon-Lotto, 50th at 22'16)
"I thought it was going to be a good day for us today. I was in a heap of moves early on, but finally we cracked Fassa for the first time in how many years. But one of our guys got second and we keep on getting results. The team's been awesome. Unfortunately I'm getting a little bit worse as the tour's going on. I've just gotta get through tomorrow's mountain day. The last 100km today, even though it was going easy, I felt really crook."
Russell Van Hout (Colombia-Selle Italia, 111th at 22'16)
Van Hout was fired up for today's stage, which passed through his former home town of Novi Ligure. He made the first serious break of 11, but that was brought back after 50 km. "I felt great and there were three Aussies in there too," he said. "We all thought it was going to go away. We didn't have a Credit rider there and they were keen to pull it back.
"My legs are feeling really good but I'm starting to get a little bit of something in the chest that seems to be going around. Could be a bit of the bronchitis I had earlier in the Giro. But it was a beautiful day, and it was a magnificent view rolling in. I'm happy."
Van Hout's day didn't go completely smoothly though. "I had to change shoes in the race," he said. "I stopped for a leak, stepped on the gutter and my cleat broke in half. So fortunately, I had some spare shoes in the spare car. I had to swap, but the shoes were a bit different and my feet are really sore."
Matt Wilson (Francaise des Jeux, 121st at 22'16)
Matt Wilson was also in the early break with Van Hout. "I finally got away and it seemed like the perfect break, plenty of teams there, everyone working. But Credit and Fassa closed us down. I went with another couple of moves after that, but it was the one move I didn't go with that went. I'm really disappointed because I've got really, really good legs. I hope I get another chance. I don't know when."
Trent Wilson (Colombia-Selle Italia, 133rd at 22'16)
"I'm much better today mate. It was another recovery day for me. The legs couldn't have been much worse than they were, but Milan's getting closer. I'll be a lot happier after the mountains."
