Maarten Tjallingii and Martijn Keizer finished 42nd and 45th in the 17th stage of the Vuelta a España. Martijn Keizer lost a top-15 result because of a late crash in the 38.7-kilometre trial, which new overall leader Tom Dumoulin (Giant – Alpecin) won.

“Maarten Tjallingii and Martijn Keizer were going to give the best they could for a good result”, sports director, Erik Dekker said after the race. “The others had to make sure that they would save some energy for the upcoming days.

“Martijn crashed, unfortunately. That was a painful moment for him. It was his goal to finish between fifth and 15th, and he was going to finish close to that goal. He made a little mistake and crashed at a roundabout with only ten kilometres to go. He was well prepared and motivated. It’s a pity that he wasn’t able to reach his target.”

Disappointment
“It’s a disappointment,” Martijn Keizer said. “I was provisionally 14th after 27.5 kilometres and I was feeling like I was riding a good time trial.

“I wanted to give it all today because it was my last chance at a good result in this Vuelta. That’s why I took so many risks. A little too many when you look at it now. I rode into a roundabout with too much speed. It’s a pity.”

The riders are going to face several climbs again in the 18th stage. “The stage starts with flat roads,” Dekker continued. “But the end of the race is very hard again. The finish line is just after a first categorised climb. This stage is a chance for us. We want to be in the early breakaway.”