During the 16th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Matthias Brändle rode in the 10-rider lead group of the day, placing seventh after 173 kilometers. As a result, Team NetApp scored yet another top 10 finish. During the final kilometers in Falzes, Ion Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel) took off as a soloist, winning the stage ahead of Alessandro de Marchi (Androni Giocatollibe) and Stef Clement (Rabobank). Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Katusha) still wears the leader's pink jersey. Team NetApp's best-ranked rider overall is Jan Barta in 56th place.

"Things really took off on the first 50 kilometers. Everyone knew that in all probability a group would come. The struggle for the breakaway groups was thus accordingly fierce," Team Manager Ralph Denk explained. In the end, Team NetApp managed to get a rider, Matthias Brändle, into the 10-man lead group of the day. 

"Today we had a real chance of claiming a stage win. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. The last mountain was the decisive phase. Matthias gave his best, and we're satisfied with a top 10 finish," Ralph Denk summed up.

The big Dolomite stage is scheduled for tomorrow. The riders will cover 186 steep kilometers from Falzes to Cortina d'Ampezzo. Four categorized climbs await the riders: two each in categories one and two. 

stage 16, 22 May: Limone sul Garda - Falzes/Pfalzen, 173 km
stage 17, 23 May: Falzes/Pfalzen - Cortina d’Ampezzo, 186 km
stage 18, 24 May: San Vito di Cadore - Vedelago, 149 km
stage 19, 25 May: Treviso - Alpe di Pampeago/Val di Fiemme, 198 km
stage 20, 26 May: Caldes/Val di Sole - Passo dello Stelvio, 219 km
stage 21, 27 May: ITT Milano - Milano, 30.1 km

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