My three Giro highlights...

And then it was over…

One of the most incredible editions of the Giro so far ended yesterday and I am feeling pretty flat with no racing to enjoy today.

Where to start on the race eh?

I wanted to do three things I remembered most from the race to try and inspire others to follow and give us a nice concise appraisal of the race.

1. Holland

The crowds in the Netherlands were amazing over the whole weekend.

Sure it helped having Dumoulin and Tjallingi  riding riding so well. But there was sunshine and heat and all the things this spring and early summer seems to have lacked across the whole of Northern Europe.

It felt good and looked great… unless you were J-C Peraud  

2. Steven Kruijswijk

Where to start? The guy would have been the winner had it not been for a misplaced wheel and a catapulting journey into a snow bank.

I was truly devastated for the guy and was a little harsh over on Twitter when it came to my appraisal of that Friday afternoon.

Source: https://twitter.com/fendrieneu/status/736978845048406016

I wanted him to win as I love an underdog and having been a follower of wheels for a lot of his grand tour career, the lad had shown real panache and made the race thrilling to watch.

The podium would have been the right place for him to finish in my eyes.

3. Etixx

After a classics campaign that was more down than up, the men from Belgium had some stiff competition for best team out of that country with the stage winning prowess of Lotto Soudal.

However Gianluca Brambilla showed that he wasn’t a flash in the pan at Strade Bianchi and got the pink jersey over those same roads. Bob Jungels took it on for a bit before cementing himself in the white jersey.

A great tour which looked like ending on a high even before Matteo Trentin helped mug Moreno Moser in a thrilling stage win.