This year's Giro d'Italia is shaping up to be the most attritional edition of the race in recent memory. With the race having just passed the halfway mark, only 140 riders remain at the end of stage 11, down 36 on the 176 who set off at the Grande Partenza in Abruzzo on May 6.
"He was sick as a dog and you could see that, you didn't need to be a doctor to see that," Lefevere said."We came to the Giro to win. You could see that Remco was sick even the day before the time trial. He looked tired but he still won the time trial. He deserves some respect for that."