Giro d'Italia stage 14 - Finish line quotes

Esteban Chaves won stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia in the Dolomites as he and Steven Kruijswijk dealt a blow to the other overall favourites, with the Dutchman moving into the pink jersey at the expense of Andrey Amador. Amador's Movistar teammate Alejandro Valverde also lost a chunk of time after an attack from Vincenzo Nibali, who was dropped himself when Kruijswijk attacked and took Chaves with him. We've gathered some initial reactions from the key protagonists of the day. 

Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge)

"I'm really happy. Winning the queen stage in the Giro is really special. This is not only for me, but for the team, who worked really well today. All the guys, the mechanics, soigneurs, people away from the race at the office. Orica-GreenEdge is a big family, thanks to Shayne Bannan, everyone.

"Everyone was riding at their limits. Kruisjwijk started his attack, then I tried to follow. It was a steep climb, and then when we saw Nibali was dropped we started to work together. There's a lot of this Giro left. This is great but we'll see what happens tomorrow."

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana)

[Are you happy with the day?] "Half and half. I'm happy to have dropped Valverde.

"They [Chaves and Kruijswijk] did a really strong attack today. I suffered with the change of rhythm really. I had to let them go and measure the effort. Maybe they had a bit of help at the front, I was close for a while but I couldn't get back. It was quite windy and they were doing turns so it was easier for them to get time than for me to get back on.

"He [Michele Scarponi] and all the team did a great job today. We've dropped Valverde, we're happy about that and now we need to recover."

Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo)

"I came here with big ambitions to go for good a good GC [result], but getting the pink jersey is something else. I can't believe it but I'm really happy. 

"This morning we made a plan, and I said 'we'll try to follow Nibali and Valverde'. When Scarponi was making the hard pace i knew Nibali would attack, and I was really good behind him, Then I felt I could do something myself, I tried something, luckily it was the right time, and Esteban came with me and we worked together.

"I felt really good all day. I knew that this kind of stage would suit me pretty good, after the first mountain stage we had yesterday. Today, I could attack and really had some good power.

"It [tomorrow's time trial] is going to be really hard. I think I'm feeling confident, and it's only the third day in the mountains, so I'm confident that I can have a good time trial. I think Esteban showed today, together with me, that he was one of the strongest in the race."