Steven Kruijswijk placed 20th in the fourth stage of Paris-Nice today. In the time trial to Mont Brouilly, he stopped the clock at 22-52 minutes. Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe won and took the lead. Kruijswijk moved ahead to 20th place overall.

"It wasn’t a good time trial," said Kruijswijk. "To take part for the win in this field you have to be in a great shape. That was not the case for me. It is a pity that I'm not OK.

“A time trial like this must be a perfectly measured effort. Today, I tried to get the maximum out of it, and unfortunately a 20th place was the result. "

Kruijswijk rode with the best in the Abu Dhabi Tour. Early this week, though, he had health problems.

"After the Abu Dhabi Tour, I felt a little down. I was not really sick, but suffered from some throat problems. The first days in bad weather here in Paris-Nice didn’t do me any good. Today, I felt better than in the beginning of the week. "

GC

In the overall standings, Kruijswijk sits 20th. The classification is not a goal anymore, however. “On Saturday and Sunday, I want to go for a good stage result. After that, we will see what the result is in the GC on Sunday. My health has to improve first. Let's hope that happens in the coming days."