Sonny Colbrelli commented on his second-place: “Today it was a super effort for the team, and I had great support in the final and before. It was a super lead out by Tratnik. I went for the sprint from 300m, but Sagan followed me. I’ll try again after tomorrow, which is a good chance for me.”

"It was a nice stage for us today but a hard one as well, with 2,600 metres of altitude gain. The goal we had set was to win, we all worked towards it and we achieved it! We controlled from the start to avoid having a big breakaway group, Juraj, Jordi, and Burgi put in a big effort to keep things under control. Juraj and Jordi contributed to catching the break while Burgi placed the squad in the right position before the final climb. Then, Ben was essential in bringing back all the late attacks in the closing, flat, kilometres. This excellent teamwork was finally capped off with a good sprint by Peter and a stage win. Last but certainly not least, Wilco was always in the leading, front group and finished safely with the main GC contenders." – Jan Valach, Sports Director

Team director, Rolf Aldag was pleased with the result and the teamwork “After yesterday Sonny had the legs to win but was really close, so to build on that was the goal for today. It was really great to see the combination of a fast guy like Sonny and the GC guys (Jack and Damiano). We strategically put Pernsteiner in the breakaway, so we didn’t have to work. The mental strength of Pernsteiner was incredible to come back and work in the final. It was great to see. It shows the team spirit and how everyone is willing to work for each other to succeed. Today we got the reward, and I’m happy for Sonny, who worked so hard, and I’m proud of what the guys have done.”

"I'm so happy about this victory. I want to remember, first of all, our team doctor for so many years, Jesús Hoyos, who passed away during the stage. I want to dedicate this victory to him; sadly, we lost him in just few weeks due to a terminal illness, and it's really sad for our entire team. Such a hard stage, especially because of the rain and cold conditions. I was saving my move for the precise moment into that last climb - Woods was going strong, there were several attacks into the group, and I wanted to try but not too early. I waited for those final 500 meters to make a real gap and hopefully take the stage win. In the end, it was stage and jersey - it always makes you happy to get a leader's - and we will fight hard to retain it. INEOS is so strong, it's a short gap, even more so with their TT skills, but we will fight - we've got a strong team and will give our maximum, only the road will tell. Sometimes people doubt about what you can do, but we've always gone step-by-step, and things are turning out well. It gives us hope for the upcoming challenges, but before the Giro, it's all about this weekend."

Peter Sagan Post Race: Thanks to all my teammates for their work today, they put in a very strong effort to bring back the break and shut the attacks. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to catch Soler when he went off in the last climb, so the stage win got away today. I'm feeling better and I see my form improving, even under such awful conditions as the ones we had today."

"I wanted to go for the podium and so fifth place [overall] is a bit of a disappointment," Woods said in a post-race interview with CyclingProNet. "I didn’t have the legs on the flat section and emptied the tank a bit too early on. I need to do more homework on the time trial bike."