Jos Van Emden is mostly known as a loyal domestique but today he got a rare chance to shine when he made the break in stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia. The stage had been his big goal since the start of the race and so he was disappointed not to come away with a result.

Jos van Emden already knew before the start of the Giro d’Italia that a breakaway would stand a good chance in today’s 17th stage. The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rider gave everything he had to get in the attack of the day and succeeded. However, after 208 kilometres between Sarnonico and Vittorio Veneto, the Dutchman finished ‘only’ 14th. 

“And that’s a bit of a disappointment,” said Van Emden. “I had marked this day with red in my calendar. Of course, it’s fun to be in a break in a grand tour, I had never experienced that before, but I really wanted to fight for the victory and unfortunately, that didn’t work out.” 

Van Emden began the escape together with Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s Thomas De Gendt. It wasn’t an easy task as the peloton dashed through the first hundred kilometres in just two hours. 

“But soon I felt I recovered well from yesterday’s hard ride. Unfortunately, 23 other riders joined us later on. That made it a very different race. 

“I turned my focus to the final climb. I wanted to be with best on the top so that I could get in the mix for the win. Unfortunately, five men attacked on the climb and stayed clear. I still tried to jump and attacked with everything I had, but the others marked my attacks.” 

The 29-year-old Van Emden had a strong classics campaign and proved today that he is still going well. 

“And that’s very nice to experience,” said the 29-year old rider. “Last spring, I rode harder than I ever did and now, things are going fine as well. I don’t have to save energy in order to reach the finish. Last year, I made a major step and this year, it seems like I’m making another one. Apparently it’s true that these are a bike rider’s strongest years.” 

Sports Director Jan Boven said that the peloton faces a heavy mountain stage on Thursday.

“For us, it will be a day like all the other tough days. We want to give Wilco Kelderman the best support we can. The last mountain stages have shown that Marc has really grown and that he can be a real help. Hopefully, he will assist Wilco until late in the stage tomorrow.”