“The best man won today,” Clement said. “Of course, it is nice to ride in the national jersey for a year. I am happy that I rode in the jersey for several years of my career, but if you finish second behind the best time trialist of this moment, you must be happy with that." 

“I came to ride a good time trial, second to Dumoulin was the best possible for me. An honourable mention for Robert, who competed for the first time in the time trial and placed third. Not many riders are able to do that, and this was the strongest field of riders we had for years.” 

Clement raced the Giro d’Italia and Critérium du Dauphiné prior to the championships. 

“Mentally it was tough for me right after the Giro. For Jos, the Giro had a nice end with his victory in the closing time trial, but for the rest of us it ended with a disappointment because Steven abandoned. We went to the Dauphiné with a team of young riders, which gave me so much morale and energy. It helped me to push through this performance.” 

Gesink raced the time trial championships for the first time as a professional. 

“I really liked it,” Gesink said. “It was a good day for me. It was a good test after training at altitude, I think. This was a test in toughness, riding full-gas for an hour. You push yourself a little bit further than you do during training. That is what I am going to use the championships for because I did not ride the Dauphiné or the Tour de Suisse."

“This was a successful day for me in my own region. Here is where I started to ride a bike. There were many familiar faces along the course and that made this a very nice day.”