Off, on, off, on and then finally off. Such has been Steven Kruijswijk´s rollercoaster relationship with the podium in the 2018 Vuelta a España, where the LottoNL-Jumbo racer came agonisingly close to taking his first top three in a Grand Tour. Ninth in the 2017 Vuelta a España, following his great Tour de France and fifth place in Paris, Kruijswijk´s result is the best of any rider doing the Tour and Vuelta this year, and in terms of his country´s performances in the Vuelta, it equals Wilco Kelderman´s fourth last year. But just as Kelderman fell at the final post last year when Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) pushed him down a spot on GC with a stunning performance on the Angliru, so Kruijswijk was pushed off the podium on the last all-out racing day of the 2018 Vuelta.ADVERTISEMENT After a strong performance on the first day in the Pyrenees, on the Coll de la Gallina, Kruijswijk dropped Valverde, the rider ahead of him on the provisional podium as the Spaniard cracked at the foot of the climb. But his gutsy lone pursuit of Enric Mas (Quick Step Floors) and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team) proved frustrating. It was enough to ensure he finished fourth on GC, ahead of a flailing Valverde, but did not suffice, with a 52 seconds deficit on Mas and Lopez, to stop him from losing his podium spot. Speaking a few metres above the steeply rising summit finish at Col de la Gallina, whilst largely ignored by the Spanish and Colombian media, who were foraging after Mas, Valverde and Lopez et al - sitting astride his top tube, Kruijswijk told a large knot of Dutch TV and newspaper reporters that `of course it´s a big disappointment.`
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