Yesterday was a difficult day for Lidl-Trek because Giulio Ciccone, who would have been among the protagonists in the fight for the pink jersey in the last week, was forced to withdraw: after overcoming the understandable moment of shock, Luca Guercilena's team went on the attack today, conquering the Asiago finish line with Carlos Verona, who dedicated this victory to Ciccone and his family.

"Winning today means everything to me, because I won in front of my family, and it's thanks to cycling that I met my wife, when we both were racing in the Juniors category. She and I started our career together, we met through cycling, we grew up together, and I grew as a person alongside her. We have a family with three children and we are a great team. It's beautiful to find the right balance between sport and family, and they always come to me to give me courage when they can."

Ciccone had to leave the race and the team was very disappointed, because they know how much the Abruzzese had worked to do well in this Giro and hope to see him back in the group soon.

"Today's victory was wonderful, unfortunately we lost Ciccone yesterday, we were very disappointed, but I knew I had to stay calm. It was an emotional day, certainly people enjoyed watching this race on TV. Giulio has always given his all for the team and this season we've been together a lot, I know today he could have played for the victory. We did two months of altitude training, many sacrifices, I wish him the best and that he returns soon."

Today's stage was very difficult because many riders wanted to win and the general classification riders wanted to gain time, but Verona was smart, maintained his calm and managed the end of the race well.

"In the first part of the stage I wanted to break away but didn't succeed. When I saw that group go away, I told myself that maybe, despite my age, I still have to learn. Then I saw that UAE was setting a great pace, I thought maybe there's still a chance. We remained about fifteen or twenty riders and I had managed to stay with the best, a bit like what happened on the San Pellegrino, so my legs were feeling good. I managed to get into the second breakaway, I knew the finale suited me, because I'm not a rider of sudden attacks, but I'm strong on the pace, especially if I can set my own rhythm. The general classification riders were just behind me, so I said: all or nothing. And in the end, it was all."

Lidl-Trek is a strong team and in this Giro d'Italia, they are the team with the most victories. In fact, in addition to the 4 wins with Pedersen, there was Daan Hoole's victory in Pisa and now Carlos Verona's success.

"This team is fantastic, we are a wonderful team, we are managed by great people. It's an excellent working group and I want to highlight Mads Pedersen's work because he is truly a great leader. I've been racing for fifteen years and it's difficult and rare to find people like this. Yesterday Mads said some beautiful words of encouragement to Ciccone and his leadership is incredible."

After Giulio Ciccone's crash, the team had to reorganize and find a new strategy, because for the third week they had a plan to help the Abruzzese win the pink jersey or at least make the final podium in Rome.

"After the crash, we had to reorganize a bit and last night they told me I could have a chance today and when the team gives you the green light, it's truly fantastic. I want to dedicate the victory to Ciccone and the entire team and my family. Yesterday was truly a shock for everyone. We were waiting for Giulio this week. I tell him to be resilient, not to give up. It was supposed to be his Giro, but I'm sure that with dedication and training he will come back stronger than before. We lost our leader and my role in the team is to help the leader, and today I wanted to help just the same. We deserved a victory like this, we'll see what happens in the third week, but morale will definitely be a bit higher after today's success."